In an e-mail blast to local residents, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said the city will be “expanding and improving” Covid-19 testing for residents.
As Covid-19 Jersey City cases continue to hit record numbers, many testing sites throughout the city have been plagued with long lines. Obtaining test results has also been anything but rapid. As a result, Fulop said residents can expect to see new Covid-19 testing sites in Jersey City this week. (The locations weren’t disclosed).
“We currently have 15 partner testing locations listed on the City website and we will be expanding with three more sites later this week,” read the e-mail.
Unlike Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Hoboken Mayor Ravinder S. Bhalla, Fulop doesn’t have plans to implement any indoor face mask mandates in Jersey City.
“Last year we learned that a patchwork of local rules that are different from municipality to municipality is actually counterproductive for positive health outcomes,” reads the e-mail. “With that knowledge, we are standing together with the State and Governor Murphy’s guidelines. Of course, we are still encouraging people to engage in best practices.”
On December 30, the Jersey City reported 898 new Covid-19 cases, which is the city’s highest single day number since the onset of the pandemic. Hospitalizations are seeing a slight post-holiday increase, whereas fatalities have not undergone any significant increases, according to the JC Covid-19 tracker. You can read Fulop’s full e-mail below:
New Year Updates in Jersey City
COVID-19
“From a public health standpoint, we all know the challenges that 2021 brought upon us, but we are all hopeful that 2022 will bring better days. As a starting point for our COVID update, we are in daily contact with both of our hospital systems with regards to admissions, ventilator usage, and of course, fatalities. Our local decisions continue to be driven by the information we are seeing in real time here in Jersey City.
Based on the data that we see locally, it is best to be in line and consistent with the Governor and public health policies implemented statewide. Last year we learned that a patchwork of local rules that are different from municipality to municipality is actually counterproductive for positive health outcomes. With that knowledge, we are standing together with the State and Governor Murphy’s guidelines. Of course, we are still encouraging people to engage in best practices.
We are committed to expanding and improving testing for our residents. Jersey City was a leader early in the pandemic with regards to both vaccines and testing, however with the current variant, we know testing and quicker results are paramount. Across the nation, we are seeing delayed turnaround times as labs are inundated. Here in Jersey City, we are working on innovative solutions to increase the result reporting times. We currently have 15 partner testing locations listed on the City website and we will be expanding with three more sites later this week.
All of this is very fluid and remains our primary focus as an administration. I will do my best to keep you updated on this front.”
