A day after delivering the rules for summer camps, New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli laid out the guidelines for public and private community pools.
Set to open on June 22, the rules are similar to those announced for camps with a heavy emphasis on social distancing and capacity limits.
Among the most notable of the guidelines are no pool toys, such as noodles, are allowed and capacity limits are set at 50%.
Employee Guidelines
For employees, before entering, staff members must be screened for fever and are to leave the facility if exhibiting signs of the coronavirus. Employees are to wear gloves when handling food.
Staffers are to wear face coverings but lifeguards do not. There must be routine cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces several times a day.
Attempts to reduce capacity should include implementing a reservation or pass system as well as reducing hours. Visitors must enter and exit in staggered fashion and are to leave contact information to be used for contact tracing purposes.
Social Distancing
There must be signs marking off six feet of spacing in commonly used areas and signs are to be posted stating patrons should be on alert for signs of illness, advising people to avoid the pool if they are showing COVID-19 symptoms.
Occupancy in showers and restrooms and other indoor facilities must be limited. Foot coverings must be worn in those areas.
Where possible, swimmers should practice social distancing when in the water,
“Social distancing is still the only tool we have in our tool kit,” said Persichilli.
Daily Data
As of June 9, the cumulative number of coronavirus cases in New Jersey reached 164,796 with 375 new cases and 91 new deaths, bringing that total to 12,303.
Of the total deaths in North Jersey, Essex County has the most with 1,722, followed by Bergen at 1,628, Hudson with 1,235, Passaic at 977, Morris at 626, Sussex at 149 and Warren with 135.
State Testing
The daily rate of infections from those tested as of June 5 rested at 3.0%. The state is no longer using serology tests as health officials explained those results show a past presence of the disease as well as a current one. By region, the north tested at 2.68%, the central at 3.3% and the south 3.7%.
Officials reported 1,736 patients are hospitalized with coronavirus—which included 84 new hospitalizations—while 80 patients were discharged. The north tier had 751 patients hospitalized, the central 555 and the south 430.
The daily discharge and new hospitalizations by tier for June 9 was the north charting 25 hospitalizations and 27 discharges, the central having 29 hospitalizations and 29 discharges, and the south reporting 30 hospitalizations and 24 discharges.
Of those hospitalized, 510 are in intensive care units and 373 on ventilators. There are currently 12 patients in field hospitals, with 474 treated overall.
Hudson Tops County Count
Hudson has the most cumulative cases in the state with 18,607, followed by Bergen at 18,573, Essex at 18,151, Passaic at 16,492, Union at 16,302, Middlesex at 16,251, Ocean at 9,059, Monmouth at 8,512, Mercer at 7,204, Camden at 6,849, Morris at 6,605, Burlington at 4,808, Somerset at 4,679, Cumberland at 2,583, Atlantic at 2,401, Gloucester at 2,340, Warren at 1,193, Sussex at 1,140, Hunterdon at 1,027, Salem at 686 and Cape May at 654.
Another 680 cases are still under investigation to determine where the person resides.
Demographic Breakdown
The racial breakdown of the record deaths was 54% White, 20% Hispanic, 19% Black, 6% Asian and 2% another race. Murphy has noted the rates in the black and Hispanic communities are running about 50% more than their population in the state.
In regards to the underlying disease of those who have passed, 59% had cardiovascular disease, 43% diabetes, 32% other chronic diseases, 17% neurological conditions, 15% chronic renal disease, 10% cancer and 14% other. Persichilli has stated most cases have multiple underlying conditions which would push the percentage of 100%.
A census of ages for 9,941 confirmed deaths shows 47% of deaths are of those 80 year old and up, 33% in the range of 65-80, 16% between 50-65 and 4% under the age of 49.
State officials are tracking cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in children who in turn test positive for COVID-19. No new cases were reported June 9, with the total cases remaining at 39 for children ranging in age from 1-18. All have tested positive for COVID-19 or have antibodies in their blood. One is currently hospitalized. No deaths have been reported from the disease.
Persichilli stated “Black and Hispanic children account for a disproportionately high number” on a national scale. While only a small sample, Persichilli reported the racial breakdown in New Jersey was 34% Black, 38% Hispanic, 22% White, 6% Asian and 3% other.
Long-term Care Facilities
Health officials noted 550 long-term care facilities are reporting at least one case of COVID-19 and accounted for 34,635 of the cases, broken down between 23,127 residents and 11,508 staff. The state’s official death total will now be reported as those that are lab confirmed, which was 5,410 on June 8. The facilities are reporting to the state 6,200 residents deaths and 109 staff deaths.
In a by-county breakdown:
Bergen County
- 63 Facilities with Outbreaks
- 3207 Total Resident Cases at Long Term Care Facilities
- 1660 Total Staff Cases at Long Term Care Facilities
- 919 Resident Deaths reported by Long Term Care Facilities
- 11 Staff Deaths reported by Long Term Care Facilities
Essex County
- 46 Facilities with Outbreaks
- 2145 Total Resident Cases at Long Term Care Facilities
- 1004 Total Staff Cases at Long Term Care Facilities
- 558 Resident Deaths reported by Long Term Care Facilities
- 19 Staff Deaths reported by Long Term Care Facilities
Morris County
- 42 Facilities with Outbreaks
- 1417 Total Resident Cases at Long Term Care Facilities
- 677 Total Staff Cases at Long Term Care Facilities
- 462 Resident Deaths reported by Long Term Care Facilities
- 3 Staff Deaths reported by Long Term Care Facilities
Passaic County
- 25 Facilities with Outbreaks
- 1242 Total Resident Cases at Long Term Care Facilities
- 730 Total Staff Cases at Long Term Care Facilities
- 365 Resident Deaths reported by Long Term Care Facilities
- 14 Staff Deaths reported by Long Term Care Facilities
Hudson County
- 15 Facilities with Outbreaks
- 982 Total Resident Cases at Long Term Care Facilities
- 526 Total Staff Cases at Long Term Care Facilities
- 234 Resident Deaths reported by Long Term Care Facilities
- 7 Staff Deaths reported by Long Term Care Facilities
Sussex County
- 7 Facilities with Outbreaks
- 254 Total Resident Cases at Long Term Care Facilities
- 136 Total Staff Cases at Long Term Care Facilities
- 107 Resident Deaths reported by Long Term Care Facilities
- 4 Staff Deaths reported by Long Term Care Facilities
Warren County
- 7 Facilities with Outbreaks
- 407 Total Resident Cases at Long Term Care Facilities
- 131 Total Staff Cases at Long Term Care Facilities
- 112 Resident Deaths reported by Long Term Care Facilities
- 1 Staff Deaths reported by Long Term Care Facilities
