Please see the information below from Mayor Weber and the Township Committee.
Since the arrival of COVID-19 in early March 2020, there have been a total of 1,121 confirmed (PCR test) and 347 probable (antigen test) COVID 19 cases reported in Springfield Township. The chart above shows the trend in reported cases over time. The number of new cases has decreased and vaccination against COVID-19 continues. However, public health departments across New Jersey continue to closely monitor emerging variants of concern, breakthrough cases among the fully-vaccinated, outbreaks associated with end-of-year and summer events, and new clusters in communities with low vaccination rates as well as aggressively pursue contact tracing to prevent further community spread and additional outbreaks where possible.
CALI Score & Variant Report:
- Union County is YELLOW (moderate)
- Week-by-week information on COVID-19 variants identified across NJ can be found HERE. Of note, variant testing across the state has seen a large increase in (Delta B.1.617.2) cases over the past few weeks; Delta now represents 70% of variants identified.
Guidance/Executive Orders:
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On July 9, the CDC released new guidance for Childcare Facilities and K-12 schools. NJDOH Communicable Disease Service will release additional, complementary guidance for these facilities soon. Highlights from the CDC guidance include:
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Most childcare/early childhood education programs serve children under the age of 12 who are not yet eligible for vaccination at this time. Therefore, this guidance emphasizes implementing layered COVID-19 prevention strategies (e.g., using multiple prevention strategies together) to protect children and adults who are not fully vaccinated.
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Masks should be worn indoors by all individuals (ages 2 and older) who are not fully vaccinated.
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Students benefit from in-person learning, and safely returning to in-person instruction in the fall 2021 is a priority.
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CDC recommends schools maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students within classrooms, combined with indoor mask wearing by people who are not fully vaccinated, to reduce transmission risk. When it is not possible to maintain a physical distance of at least 3 feet, such as when schools cannot fully reopen while maintaining these distances, it is especially important to layer multiple other prevention strategies, such as indoor masking.
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Screening testing, ventilation, handwashing and respiratory etiquette, staying home when sick and getting tested, contact tracing in combination with quarantine and isolation, and cleaning and disinfection are also important layers of prevention to keep schools safe.
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Students, teachers, and staff should stay home when they have signs of any infectious illness and be referred to their healthcare provider for testing and care.
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Homebound residents throughout our communities are also being contacted and appointments scheduled. If you know someone who is unable to leave their home (for any reason) to get a vaccine, you can register them here or call our nursing division at (973) 680-4058.
The table above shows a summary of descriptive statistics for confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in the past seven days, all confirmed COVID-19 cases, and all confirmed COVID-19-related deaths.
Stay safe!
jlaw