State officials declared the expected hospital surge for patients with COVID-19 has begun in North Jersey. Six hospitals notified the state they reached “divert” status at some point of the day April 1, including Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, Hoboken University Medical Center, St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic, and Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck. North-JerseyNews.com
St. Joseph’s Health plans to open 154 acute-care medical beds at the former Barnert Hospital building in Paterson in two weeks. The added in-patient beds at Barnert will allow its Paterson and Wayne hospitals to convert regular medical units into critical care. The Record
St. Mary’s General Hospital relocated 28 long-term care patients to a motel in Carlstadt. The hospital and Department of Human Services jointly agreed to move the patients to a hotel where there was more room for social distancing and individual bathrooms despite the objections of the Carlstadt Borough Council. News12 New Jersey
The federal government has nearly emptied its emergency stockpile of protective medical supplies as state governors continue to push for protective gear for hospital workers. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has delivered more than 11.6 million N95 masks, 5.2 million face shields, 22 million gloves and 7,140 ventilators, exhausting the emergency stockpile. The New York Times
Quest Diagnostics had thousands of coronavirus test orders waiting to be completed, leading to days of delays. The Secaucus-based company, which had about 160,000 coronavirus tests waiting for processing as of March 25, said they have been able to reduce the backlog for tests since then. CNN
Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Jimenez was tested at Holy Name Medical Center on March 29 and immediately entered into self-quarantine to prevent the spread of the virus. Hudson Reporter
Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo tested positive for the coronavirus. DiVincenzo has been self-quarantined since March 21 with mild symptoms. The executive said he had to take a second test after the first one was lost. New Jersey Globe
Newark, Orange, East Orange and Irvington are using their police forces to jointly patrol borders to enforce the state’s stay at home order. Drivers will face summonses if they are violating the governor’s order, which bans travel for all New Jersey residents except for necessary purposes like grocery shopping, doctor visits or for essential work. News12 New Jersey
Hoboken officials are asking residents to hold off food shopping so families on state and federal assistance can stock up. Many low-income families receive their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children at the beginning of the month and may have waited to purchase food due to using their benefits more quickly than usual. The Jersey Journal
At least five teachers, a guidance director and four maintenance staff members may be cut from the Mountain Lakes School District to close a $1.5 million budget shortfall. Additional recommendations include reducing four supervisors to 10-month contracts, cut related-service consulting fees and eliminate a part-time computer position at the Wildwood School. The Daily Record
And finally…Easter, Passover and Ramadan will be downsized this spring, amid restrictions on public and family gatherings. The Record
