The COVID-19 pandemic is continually extending its impact throughout the United States. Due to its exponentially increasing nature, matched with the current lack of a vaccine, cases are still on the rise as many are still being affected.
Hoboken has recently suffered from an increase in positive COVID-19 cases. On October 28, the city found that there were 17 new test results that showed up positive for COVID-19. This is the largest number of positive cases that Hoboken has received since April, when the pandemic first had spiked. An increase in positive test results has caused those in charge to attempt to stop the pandemic from accelerating even further.
Phil Cohen, Hoboken’s City Councilman, released a statement about these results. He expressed concern about the illegal house parties that have been occurring in the city, stating, “it is incredibly disappointing that five Hoboken Councilpeople failed to show up for a Special Meeting called to to consider an Ordinance that would fine rowdy, illegal house parties attended by 25 or more people up to $1,000.” Councilman Cohen expressed his wish for such fines to be put into place for Halloween weekend, out of anticipation that people would be hosting parties, breaking the rules that were recently put in place to ensure safety. According to Councilman Cohen, Mayor Bhalla and Council President Giattino organized and planned a “special meeting” to discuss such matters, but due to the absence of five council members, no extra summons were installed. The Council held its next “regular” meeting on November 4.
Mayor Bhalla also issued a statement on the matter, declaring that, “On a day where Hoboken saw its highest amount of COVID-19 cases in one day since April, it’s unfortunate that the majority of the City Council did not vote on this important ordinance designed to help prevent the spread of the virus.” He then went on to state that “indoor gatherings are proven to be the main reason why COVID-19 is continuing to rise in Hoboken, and this measure is solely designed to protect the public health and prevent super-spreader events.” He then emphasized the urgency of the situation, explaining that it is a matter of public safety, and thanked the Council President Jen Giattino and Councilmembers Jabbour, Cohen, and Doyle, who all attended the meeting.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Hoboken has seen a total of 1,127 confirmed positive cases. Cases have been increasing since the end of October. Some of the greatest counts were on October 31, when 21 new positive cases were reported, November 6, which saw 25 new cases, and November 8, which had 16. Most recently reported, on November 9, Hoboken counted a total of 14 new positive COVID-19 test results.
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