19 NEW COVID-19 POSITIVE CASES REPORTED IN MONROE TOWNSHIP

As mentioned before, our COVID-19 numbers are reported to us from the Middlesex County Department of Health. Today we are at 363 positive cases.  As we all know, and as my colleague Mayor Cohen in East Brunswick points out, these numbers do not reflect actual disease as many people may be asymptomatic, have mild experiences, or are unable to be tested.  There is still a shortage of tests in our State and test results continue to lag 5 - 7 days.  

Please note: Monroe OEM has reviewed the locations of cases in Monroe (outside of the private long-term care facilities) and they are distributed throughout the town and there does not seem to be a cluster in any one location.

– Mayor Gerald W. Tamburro

COVID-19 Cases received Tuesday, April 21:  New positive cases 19 

STATE AND NJDOH STATISTICS:  

• As of 10:30 p.m. last night, 7,210 residents hospitalized, 1,983 individuals in either critical or intensive care, 1,570 ventilators in use and 745 patients discharged from the hospital.
• 84 patients at one of our field medical stations
• New Jersey labs are reporting that 172,612 individuals have been tested. 76,818 tests came back positive for an overall positivity rate of 44.5%.
• Last night, Secaucus Field Medical Station, served its 200th patient. To date, they have discharged 135 recovered patients
• There are 438 long-term care facilities in the state with COVID-19 cases.Total of 11,608 cases have been reported from these facilities.2,050 COVID-19 deaths have been reported from these facilities.
• 79% of ICU patients are on ventilators. 
• Yesterday, the NJ Office of Emergency Management received a shipment of 500 ventilators that the state purchased. 
• FDA Commissioner says the current timeline estimate for a coronavirus vaccine is March 2021. "We're really trying to accelerate the efforts, and we will try for sooner."

MESSAGE FROM GOVERNOR MURPHY:  New hospitalizations dropped yesterday.  We need to see this number begin a sustained decrease.  This is, and will remain, our most important measure of progress, as the rate of new hospitalizations has a direct correlation to the number of new positive test results.  The overall number of patients in critical or intensive care remains stable, as does the numbers of ventilators in use.  We need these numbers to begin to decrease before we can move to our next phase.  But, not seeing any significant increases is a good starting point.  

We’re continuing our tri-state partnership with Governor Cuomo and Governor Lamont.  Our three states are working on a contact tracing program.  This discussion is in its very early stages, but we all recognize that robust contact tracing is vital to any serious reopening efforts.  We must keep our strong social distancing policies in place. This will continue to be the case for the next several weeks, at least.

SHARE YOUR GOOD NEWS WITH US: How about more good news? If you have some, send it our way! With all of the difficult information that COVID-19 brings each day, we have also seen the very best of Monroe. We want to make sure we capture efforts of all sizes throughout Town. Whether it’s helping those in need, finding creative solutions to manage the stay at home order, or just some photos reinforcing community (chalk art, balloon arches, etc.), we’d love to see and share them. Send your content to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

QUESTIONS ABOUT COVID-19? The NJDOH, NJ Poison Control Center COVID-19 health hotline has fielded over 25,000 calls to date! Call: 2-1-1 or 1-800-962-1253; Text: NJCOVID to 898-211 or Visit: covid19.nj.gov or nj.gov/health