With COVID-19 spiking in their towns, 4 N.J. mayors urge vigilance – NJ.com

Newark, Irvington, Orange and East Orange make up an urban metroplex totaling 430,000 people, blending seamlessly into one another — physically, economically, racially, socially and politically — with family and friends, coworkers and customers, all living, working and playing across borders like a single community.

They also share alarming coronavirus numbers, outpacing an already surging state positivity rate, as COVID-19 resumes sickening and killing victims with an intensity approaching what officials had hoped would have been the disease’s peak last spring.

So, the mayors of the four predominantly Black, largely working class communities in eastern Essex County joined in a Facebook Live event Monday night, imploring their constituents to put safety ahead of celebration this holiday season, including staying away from extended-family gatherings for Thanksgiving and beyond.

Mayors Ras Baraka of Newark, Tony Vauss of Irvington, Dwayne Warren of Orange and Ted Green of East Orange told residents that, with the virus hitting their communities extra hard, they had to abide by the statewide crackdown being implemented by Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat ally that all four mayors thanked for his focus on the virus and the latitude he gave to local officials in dictating certain specifics, like curfews. Murphy on Monday reduced the gathering limits for both indoor and outdoor activities.

“Our communities are connected, whether we’re Newark, Irvington, Orange or East Orange, and people need to take this virus seriously,” said Vauss, appearing remotely from his office for a 5 p.m. event titled, Urban Mayors United Against COVID-19.

In East Orange, a city of 64,000 people, Green said 2,908 had contracted COVID-19 and 224 had died.

“These numbers are real,” Green said. “COVID is still here and we have to make sure that we do everything we can to make sure that we implement policies and regulations in our communities.”

Baraka, who hosted the event, said there were 531 new cases in Newark on Monday compared to Friday, along with three more deaths in the same span, after months of averaging close to zero daily fatalities.

The city’s positivity rate, or the portion of people being tested for the virus who are found to have it, was nearly double the state figure, at 22.02%, compared to 12.02% statewide.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage

To try to curtail the virus, last week Baraka announced some of the strictest measures in the state for residents and businesses in his city.

They include an 8 p.m. closing time for all non-essential businesses, every day. It’s the same time that restaurants and bars have to end indoor service, before closing entirely at 11 p.m.

In one hot spot in Newark’s North and East wards, all businesses must close by 9 p.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. on weekends. And for zip codes 07104, 07105, and 07107, Baraka imposed a mandatory curfew when no one should be on the street after 9 p.m. on weekdays, and 10 p.m. on weekends, unless traveling to or from work or if there is an emergency.

To illustrate how the virus spreads, Baraka gave the example of a construction worker who contracts it on the job, then goes out to eat.

“They get one of the waitresses or bartenders or whoever sick, right?” Baraka said. “They pass it over to the others in the place. Now there’s four of five people sick in the place. Now you’re open ’til 10 o’clock, 11 o’clock and the crowds get larger and they’re playing the music, and there’s people talking over the music, and six or seven more people get sick.”

“Then they take it home to their family, where there’s seven people living in a 2-bedroom apartment, because that’s what we do, right?” Baraka continued. “And they’re getting the whole family sick. And then your family is invited to a family gathering around the corner, and you go around the corner to your family gathering and now there’s 25 additional people sick. That’s basically how this thing is happening.”

In Orange, Warren said his township of 30,000 people had recorded 234 new cases in the first half of November, on a pace comparable to April’s peak total of 569, after the virus had seemed to be vanishing in August, when there were just 31 cases for the month.

“Please test, quarantine, and have your private Thanksgiving dinner,” said Warren, adding that even his children in college would test and quarantine before coming home for the holiday, which would only involve his immediate family this year. “The mayor of Orange, his family always travels for Thanksgiving. This time we’re not going to do it.”

Seeking to dispel a myth that might be lingering among his constituents, Warren said, “children and young people can get COVID, children and young people can spread COVID.”

The mayors expressed optimism about new vaccines being tested by Pfizer and Moderna with prevention rates of 90% or better.

“I know there are deep and legitimate concerns about people taking vaccines,” Baraka said. “I’m definitely afraid of it myself but I’ll do it.”

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Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com.