At the August 9 South Orange Board of Trustees meeting, Village President Sheena Collum encouraged South Orange residents to follow CDC guidelines and get vaccinated as the Delta variant continues to spread.
Collum noted that the Delta variant is responsible for most of the new cases of COVID-19 in Essex County.
“As I have mentioned on numerous occasions now, there are new CDC recommendations coming down, especially as it relates to the Delta variant,” Collum said.”That is, I believe, roughly 90% of new cases in Essex County.”
Collum said that these guidelines encourage wearing masks indoors in high risk areas.
“It is recommended that if you are in high risk areas where you don’t know people’s vaccination statuses, or if you are older, or you’re immunocompromised, you consider wearing a mask when indoors,” Collum said.
Collum stated that the best way to protect against COVID-19 is to get vaccinated.
“There will continue to be variants unless people get vaccinated,” Collum said. “That’s the number one way to guard against us going back into a lockdown, so we’re encouraging all of our South Orange residents to make sure you get vaccinated.”
Per the New Jersey Depart of Health COVID-19 Dashboard, 70% of all South Orange residents and 68% of all Maplewood residents are fully vaccinated as of August 23, 2021.
Visit southorange.org for more details on COVID-19 cases, available local vaccinations and testing, and other resources.
Daily cases in South Orange as of 8/17/21. Visit southorange.org for updates.
Weekly average of COVID-19 cases in South Orange as of 8/17/21. Visit southorange.org for more information.
Total cases of COVID-19 in South Orange, NJ, as of August 17, 2021. Visit southorange.org for more information.
