Although new COVID-19 infections are happening in Verona at a far slower pace, the novel coronavirus remains deadly. Essex County reported today that there has been an 18th death in Verona from COVID-19. The county, which has been tracking the virus here since March 2020, does not identify victims by name because of health privacy laws.
Fifteen of Verona’s deaths from COVID-19 occurred during 2020, making the virus the third-leading cause of death here last year. Verona recorded its 16th death in January.
Verona’s 17th COVID death was reported on April 1, but we lost no one else to the virus last month. Most other Essex County towns also have had few or no new deaths, with the exception of Newark, which had 40 additional losses to the pandemic, and East Orange, with 15. There have been a total of 2,621 deaths in Essex County since the pandemic started and 23,033 statewide in New Jersey. More than 577,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States.
And while New Jersey is loosening restrictions on indoor and outdoor gathering that had been imposed during the pandemic, public health officials continue to stress the importance of being vaccinated against COVID-19. To make that easier, appointments are no longer needed to get a vaccine at Essex County’s vaccination centers at Kmart in West Orange and Essex County College in Newark. Anyone who lives, works or attends school in Essex County acan walk in at either location between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to get a shot.
Photo by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash
