Good Afternoon People of Lawrence!
ok, let's get down to business...
Each morning I receive a brief Covid-19 report from our Health Officer, Keith Levine, and receive reports from the NJ Office of Emergency Management about statewide trends. In the past couple of weeks, it has become increasingly clear that things are trending the wrong way in our fight against the virus. Keith wrote the following to me:
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Kevin:
Omicron is competing with Delta in our region (meaning NY, NJ, CT area) w/ about 13% of cases being Omicron, which is not high but increases with time. We still do not know how Omicron will affect things, more on that as it develops. Hospitalizations and cases requiring a ventilator are also steeply rising in NJ, Mercer County has experienced a 250% increase in cases since early November so holiday season illness spread is in full swing right now and will only get worse.
For perspective, deaths due to COVID (in the USA) are higher in 2021 than they were in 2020 (hard to believe but true). Mercer Co. deaths are at about 1060 and NJ as a whole is around 30k last I saw. Hard to keep up with all the stats but I check them every so often.
12/9: 19
12/10: 17
12/13: 10
12/14: 12
12/15: 12
12/16: 9
This brings us to a total of 3320 confirmed cases and 96 deaths to date.
Keith
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I think it is always good to allow the community a check "under the hood" and share some internal communications that I think are important for you to see.
I am not an alarmist, but clearly, the virus is gaining strength again with this new strain. It is coming at a time when families are making plans to gather and celebrate the holidays. So, I simply offer to you all, to remain diligent and not let your guard down. Keep a mask with you at all times. When you go into a store or a public place when social distancing is not possible or realistic, wear your mask to protect yourself and others. Although we all want this covid thing to be over, it isn't. We need to remain focused on doing what we know is the right thing to do. Despite political opinions to the contrary, the right type of mask protects us from the spread of the virus. https://www.mayoclinic.org/.../coronavirus-mask/art-20485449
Here are some trends we need to be aware of in our state:
Here is some good information for those that remain unvaccinated:
Peace and love.... Peace and Love
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