Public Safety

Advocates, who recently learned that three Hispanic gardeners had fallen ill with COVID-19, worry about the virus’s spread in the Latino community.

New COVID-19 cases continued to break over 4,000 and hospitalizations climbed to just under 2,500 last night.

On Sunday, New Jersey reported 4,540 COVID-19 cases: the highest daily number at any time during the pandemic. Saturday had the second-highest number at 4,395, up from 3,399 reported on Friday. Today, Nov. 16, new cases totaled 2,232.

Since Monday, Nov. 9, New Jersey has seen 10,472 new cases, Gov. Phil Murphy said. Today, Essex County had the most new cases of any county, with more than 400 new cases reported, Murphy said. 

Anthony Harper, 30, of Newark, was arrested at Newark Penn Station on Nov. 9 after members of the NJ Transit Police Department recognized him from statewide alerts sent out by the Montclair Police Department.

Settlement documents dated Thursday, Oct. 30, obtained from the Office of the Attorney General, state that the New Jersey Department of Health agreed to lift an Oct. 9 closure order issued against the restaurant for 10 executive order violations, as long as the restaurant abides by all conditions of New Jersey’s executive orders going forward. 

It is the second positive case reported in the schools this fall, after a staff member at Watchung School tested positive on Oct. 28. 

The increase in cases is being attributed to private gatherings at homes, but also to bar service in some restaurants, and a growing sense of “pandemic fatigue” that is causing many residents to relax their sense of caution on social distancing. 

On Thursday, New Jersey officials reported 2,104 new cases, down from 2,472 reported on Wednesday. The state now has a total of 247,219 cases.

On Monday, Nov. 2, health officials reported 1,379 new cases, down from 1,751 reported yesterday and the 2,089 reported on Friday bringing the state total to 240,997.