103 residents of Maplewood have been diagnosed with coronavirus as of Tuesday night, according to Health Officer Candice Davenport.
Davenport reported the number at the virtual Township Committee meeting.
So far, the town has had two deaths associated with the virus: 44-year-old Athalante Debrosse, mother of a Columbia High School student, and an 84-year-old resident.
Davenport noted that there have so far been 8 residents who have recovered from the virus. Roughly 8-10% of Maplewoodians diagnosed have been hospitalized from complications with COVID-19, but that number varies week by week.
“We follow up with each confirmed case, 14 days after their initial notification to us,” Davenport told Village Green.”This is to confirm …that they are fully recovered and do not have any additional symptoms, and [to follow up] with their household contacts and makes sure no one else has gotten sick, as that extends their isolation/quarantine status.”
Davenport said the health department follows up on all cases, both those who are self isolating and those who are hospitalized.
“We are grateful for the tremendous sacrifice by our colleagues at all the health care systems that serve Maplewood during this time,” Davenport said.
Mayor Frank McGehee also noted that there is sometimes a discrepancy between the number of coronavirus deaths Essex County reports and those reported by individual municipalities. For instance, on Tuesday morning the county reported there had been 3 deaths in Maplewood; however, the third reported fatality turned out not to be a Maplewood resident — which was only discovered after Davenport and her staff investigated the death.
“The county is just doing a cursory search on the [Communicable Disease Reporting System database] but not doing any of the investigations,” said Davenport.
McGehee told Village Green that on the daily coronavirus phone call among the Essex County Mayors on Tuesday, another mayor pointed out the discrepancy between the county and municipalities, and the county confirmed that “the most accurate numbers will come from the Municipality’s health officer.”
