The start of December was rough for Perth Amboy battling the Coronavirus.  The first 5 days of the month had 270 reported Coronavirus cases and 2 deaths. On Tues. Dec 1, 45 cases, Wed. Dec. 2, 40 cases, Thurs. Dec. 3, 53 positive, Fri. Dec. 4, 73 cases, Sat. Dec. 5, 59 cases. Community members on Facebook are asking where is the leadership and plan to educate the public on the need to continue to wear masks, wash hands, avoid large crowds and continue social distancing. People are remarking that stores are crowded, and people are no longer seen around town wearing masks or social distancing. Questions have been raised as to why some people at City Council public meetings held inside are not wearing masks, violating the Governors Executive Order that requires everyone to wear a mask inside. Compliance with Executive Orders is not voluntary. Why isn’t the City Council having zoom meetings during the surge? Some public city meetings advertised on the city website are zoom, but not the council meetings. Cities and towns throughout NJ have continued to have zoom City Council meetings after the stay home order ended, but not Perth Amboy even though we have been hit hard by the virus.

Recently, NJ has been reporting a second COVID-19 wave, with a daily rate of positive COVID-19 cases between 4,000-6,000 and local hospitals reporting increased COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. Since the pandemic began in March 2020, Perth Amboy has had 144 COVID-19 deaths and 4, 232 COVID-19 cases. That means that 1 in about 13 residents of Perth Amboy has caught CODVID-19 since the pandemic began. Perth Amboy has the second highest reported total COVID-19 cases and third highest reported COVID-19 deaths in Middlesex County, though it is the 6th largest population in the county.

Here is some helpful information from the New Jersey COVID-19 Information Hub.