N.J. coronavirus update: 1st death in state, major events cancelled, colleges shut down, price gouging, every – NJ.com

A day after state health officials announced the first coronavirus related death in New Jersey, the impacts of the outbreak continue to be felt with many colleges and universities moving all instruction online and many school districts calling for closures and early dismissals to make plans in case a long-term shut down is needed.

In all, 15 people have tested positive for coronavirus in New Jersey after officials on Tuesday reported two new cases in Bergen County and two in Burlington County. In addition, there were 20 pending tests at the state lab as of Tuesday with another 31 people considered under investigation, New Jersey Department of Health officials said

The 69-year-old Little Ferry man who died Tuesday morning at Hackensack University Medical Center had a variety of other health issues, including diabetes, hypertension and emphysema. John Brennan who worked as a horse trainer, was revived from an initial cardiac arrest Monday, officials said, but died after a second cardiac arrest Tuesday. He was among the four new cases identified Tuesday.

NEW JERSEY SCHOOL CLOSINGS

State officials have already urged school districts to begin preparing for long-term closures, and announced that home-instruction days will count toward the required 180-day school year. Several schools have decided to close temporarily — some for facility cleaning and others for emergency planning.

Here is the latest list of New Jersey school districts that have altered their schedules.

NEW JERSEY COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY CLOSINGS

No college students in New Jersey have yet been diagnosed with the coronavirus, but many universities are taking rare steps to help reduce the risk of an outbreak on campus such as cancelling classes and moving instruction online.

BERGEN COUNTY DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY

After Brennan’s death was announced, Bergen County declared a state of emergency. It includes provisions such as ceasing all international travel on county business to countries that have been affected by the virus.

It also authorizes the county to award emergency contracts such as leases for relocation. Seven of the state’s 15 coronavirus cases are in Bergen, the state’s most populous county.

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN NEW YORK

As Wednesday morning, there were 183 positive cases in New York – 46 in New York City and 137 elsewhere in the state.

New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he is sending the National Guard to scrub public places and deliver food in New Rochelle, a Westchester County city that is at the center of the nation’s biggest known cluster of infections.

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN PENNSYLVANIA

In Pennsylvania, there were 14 presumptive positive cases as of late Tuesday night. Just across the Delaware River from Trenton, the Bucks County Health Department on Tuesday night announced the county’s first two presumed positive cases.

There have been no coronavirus deaths reported in either state.

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN U.S. AND WORLDWIDE

As of Wednesday morning, at least 1,015 people in 38 states and Washington, D.C. have tested positive for coronavirus, according to NYTimes.com. There are 31 known deaths across the country.

Worldwide, the 115,800 people have been sickened. More than 4,200 have died, according to CNN.com.

More than 70 cases have been tied to a biotech conference in Boston and infections have turned up at 10 nursing homes in the hard-hit Seattle area.

On Wednesday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee will announce a ban on gatherings and events of more than 250 people in virtually the entire Seattle metro area to try to stop the spread of the outbreak, said a person involved in the planning of the decision. The ban would apply to sporting events like Seattle Mariners baseball and Seattle Sounders soccer games.

Santa Clara County in California, home to San Jose and Silicon Valley, on Monday announced a ban on all gatherings of 1,000 people or more.

CORONAVIRUS SCAMMERS IN NEW JERSEY

Officials in Moorestown and Edison said there have been unverified social media posts claiming individuals are knocking on doors, claiming to be from the CDC and asking questions about the virus.

“The CDC is not deploying teams of people to conduct surveillance,” Edison officials said in a statement. “Contact law enforcement if this activity is occurring in your neighborhood.

Similar alerts were posted by police departments in other New Jersey towns, as well as by Sussex County’s government.

CHARGES FILED IN HOMEMADE SANITIZER SALE AT 7-ELEVEN

A 7-Eleven owner in New Jersey has been charged with four counts of child endangerment and deceptive business practices for mixing a dangerous concoction sold from her store as spray sanitizer, which burned four boys, authorities said Tuesday night.

State authorities are investigating the owner for peddling the harmful product amid fears of the coronavirus outbreak.

Manisha Bharade, who owns a River Vale location of the convenience store, was charged and then released on a summons, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced in a joint statement.

STOCK MARKET TO TAKE ANOTHER DOWNTURN WEDNESDAY

Just one day after Wall Street suffered its biggest losses since the financial crisis of 2008 and Tuesday appeared to be a day of recovery, stock futures are down 2.1% on Wednesday morning.

Stocks recouped most of their historic losses from the prior day as hopes rose, faded and then bloomed again on Wall Street that the U.S. government will try to cushion the economic pain from the coronavirus, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

The S&P 500 surged as much as 3.7% on Tuesday morning, only to see those gains evaporate by midday. The index then bounced up and down before turning decisively higher after President Donald Trump pitched his ideas for a break on payroll taxes and other economic relief to Senate Republicans.

By the end of trading, the S&P 500 was up 4.9% and had erased three-fifths of Monday’s loss.

MAJOR EVENTS SCRAPPED

Hours after Philadelphia officials confirmed the city’s fist corona virus case on Tuesday, the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade was canceled.

City officials in Philadelphia also recommended that fans stay home from 76ers and Flyers games. Neither team said it plans stop fans from attending games at the Wells Fargo Center.

The New York Half Marathon has been canceled while the New York Auto Show has been postponed until late August.

No St. Patrick’s Day parades in New Jersey have been canceled.

Meanwhile, the Ivy League, which includes Princeton University has canceled its postseason men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.

The Rutgers men’s basketball team begins play in the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis Thursday afternoon while Seton Hall tips off at the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York Thursday night. Both tournaments are scheduled to proceed. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which includes New Jersey schools Monmouth, Rider and St. Peter’s is playing its tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City this week.

There’s been no word on next week’s NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, including whether or not the games will be open to fans.

It was business as usual for the Devils on Tuesday night at Prudential Center in Newark, though the NHL NBA and Major League Baseball have suspended the media’s access to locker rooms and clubhouses.

The NBA is considering closing games to fans or moving games to other cities as well.

While officials in Connecticut called off the rest of its winter high school season, state tournament basketball and hockey games in New Jersey are proceeding this week.

Len Melisurgo and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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