New Jersey recorded the third highest single day total of new cases, approaching levels not seen since the surge of last Winter. The state’s dashboard recorded 6,271 new PCR confirmed cases on Dec. 16. The only other days that have surpassed that number were 6,922 on Jan. 13, 6,435 on Jan. 9, and 6,314 on Jan. 7. Additionally, 1,366 probable cases were recorded, resulting in a one-day total of 7,637. In previous surges, highs were recorded of 4,491 in April 2020, 4,699 in April 2021 and 3,079 in September 2021. North-JerseyNews.com
New Jersey’s schools are seeing the highest number of COVID cases since they reopened for in-person instruction in September as the rate of infection has more than doubled for students in less than a month. For every 1,000 students, 2.05 tested positive in the middle of November—that number increased to 4.56 students for every 1,000 on Dec. 5. Staff COVID cases increased even faster, reported at 5.79 cases per 1,000, up from a 2.40 rate in November. The Daily Record
New Jersey students who come in close contact with classmates who test positive for COVID-19 will no longer need to stay out of school for 14 days, under new guidelines released by state health officials. Students who are “close contacts”—meaning they spent more than 15 minutes within three feet of a classmate or teacher who tested positive—will now only need to quarantine for seven days if they test negative or 10 days if they don’t get a test. Additionally, New Jersey is scrapping health recommendations that tied the length of school quarantines to the state’s color-coded weekly COVID Activity map. NJ.com
Omicron could soon overtake Delta as the share of cases nationally caused by the new variant has increased to 2.9% from 0.4% in just a week, according to projections by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is far higher in some regions of the country. Researchers at one University of Washington lab have reported that the share of viral samples seeming to contain Omicron’s telltale pattern of mutations has jumped to 20% from 3% in a matter of days. Still uncertain is how serious the consequences will be, as much remains unknown about the variant, including how likely it is to cause severe disease. The New York Times
Rep. Tom Malinowski is ready to run on a record of accomplishment, planning to drive home a message that between the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the Build Back Better Act, Democrats are delivering on their promises to make the lives better for every single middle class resident of Northern New Jersey. “When you put those things together, it occurs to me, in 2016 when he talked about issues, Donald Trump made a couple of big promises about infrastructure and letting Medicare negotiate down the price of prescription drugs,” said Malinowski. “He didn’t get either of those things done, we just did.” North-JerseyNews.com
Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker announced a total of $54.1 million was awarded to 18 airports across New Jersey by the U.S. Department of Transportation to support maintenance, upgrades and improvements. The funding was appropriated in the $1.2 trillion bipartisan Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and includes $42.5 million for Newark Liberty Airport, $763,000 for Teterboro and just under $300,000 each for smaller airports in North Jersey. InsiderNJ
President Joe Biden acknowledged work on Democrats’ $2 trillion Build Back Better Act is nowhere near complete, as a series of parliamentary challenges and the concerns of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) stalled progress on a bill the party had hoped to wrap up this year. The President said he wants to get the bill done as soon as possible, but cited the logistical hurdles alongside the continued objections of the West Virginia Senator. “It takes time to finalize these agreements, prepare the legislative changes, and finish all the parliamentary and procedural steps needed to enable a Senate vote,” President Biden said. The Wall Street Journal
Most Americans should be given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead of the Johnson & Johnson shot that can cause rare but serious blood clots, U.S. health advisors recommended Dec. 16. The clotting problem has caused nine confirmed deaths after J&J vaccinations— while the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines don’t come with that risk and appear more effective, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. News12 New Jersey
New Jersey added an extra $10 million and extended the filing deadline to the COVID relief fund set aside for state residents who did not qualify for federal pandemic relief checks or other COVID-related unemployment assistance. The Excluded New Jerseyans Fund originally contained $40 million and was set aside to benefit the state’s undocumented and low-income immigrants, former prisoners re-entering society, and other residents without formal identification papers who suffered hardships due to the pandemic. New Jersey Herald
Schools across the United States are on high alert in response to TikTok and Snapchat posts warning of shooting and bomb threats nationwide today despite police stating the threats are not considered credible. Local New Jersey districts have alerted their school communities and will increase their security response as a precautionary measure. There’s no direct threat to any specific school in New Jersey, or anywhere else. NJ1015.com
Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3) stated he was hesitant to support many of the bills in Gov. Phil Murphy’s newest gun control package, arguing that some struck him as legislation for the sake of legislation. “We’ve got the second-most stringent gun laws in the country. That’s a good thing,” Sweeney said. “But continuing just to pass more bills because you’re trying to find something else to pass to say you did it, I don’t agree with.” Sweeney added that while he does intend to let some of the bills through during his final weeks as leader of the Senate, he wishes there was more focus on illegal guns and less on law-abiding gun owners. New Jersey Globe
Col. Patrick Callahan’s nomination to become superintendent of the New Jersey State Police unanimously advanced on Dec. 16 after a contentious confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Senate President Steve Sweeney stating “with all due respect Colonel, I think you’re stonewalling us.” Several Democratic lawmakers grilled Callahan—who has served as acting superintendent for four years—about State Police procedures and their response earlier this month when some Republican members of the General Assembly protested the Statehouse’s vaccine-or-test mandate. Callahan refused to answer questions about the incident, citing an ongoing internal investigation. PoliticoNJ
New Jersey Acting Attorney General Andrew Bruck announced a range of initiatives to promote racial justice, including anti-discrimination regulations covering 720,000 state licensed professionals and prioritizing racial justice in civil enforcement. Among the raft of policies announced was proposed rulemaking covering professional and occupational boards and committees, which issue licenses for doctors, dentists, cosmetology and hairstyling, massage and bodywork therapy, nursing and other fields across 51 licensing entities, that are supported by the Division of Consumer Affairs, as well as a directive to the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Division of Consumer Affairs, Division on Civil Rights, Division of Gaming Enforcement and the New Jersey Racing Commission to “prioritize racial justice when identifying matters for investigation and enforcement.” NJ Spotlight News
Members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation are among the Democratic lawmakers behind a comprehensive reform package aimed at reining in Presidential abuses of power. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Protecting Our Democracy Act backers say will ensure a more transparent and accountable government by reinforcing the checks and balance system between the branches and protecting the nation’s electoral process. The measure, which has support from the White House, looks to strengthen guardrails that were tested by former President Donald Trump. Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. (NJ-10) called the bill “a response to the actions of former President Trump, whose actions as president exposed potential weaknesses in the American political system.” North-JerseyNews.com
Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh was among the first mayoral candidates who picked up nominating petitions at City Hall on Dec. 16, the first day the municipal clerk began distributing the election packets. Others that are attempting to get on the ballot to face off against Sayegh are Fifth Ward Councilman Luis Velez and David Gilmore, the city’s director of community of improvements, who has a pending lawsuit accusing Sayegh of political retaliation. The Record
State Sen. Kristin Corrado (R-40) will not run to be the GOP nominee to take on Rep. Mikie Sherrill in the 11th Congressional District this year. “No,” Corrado said when asked about the possibility of campaigning for Congress. “I would never want to go there. I’m happy with where I am.” New Jersey Globe
Hoboken modified its campaign finance rules to exempt unions from campaign contribution limits if a court deems the language enforceable, a retreat from the city’s strict campaign donation laws. The campaign finance ordinance would newly allow unions to donate more than $500 to campaigns in the city. State Election Law Enforcement Commission rules say corporations or unions can contribute up to $2,600 to a candidate committee; $7,200 to a political committee, continuing political committee and municipal political party committee; $25,000 to a legislative leadership committee and state political party committee; and $37,000 to a county political party committee. The Jersey Journal
An amendment to the Tenafly master plan that could bring a complete overhaul to the current Holy Name Medical Center was approved by the planning board and sent to the council for consideration. The four-phase plan includes construction of a nine-story hospital building to be connected to the existing hospital, along with an eight-story medical office building on the corner of Cedar Lane and Teaneck Road, a five-story medical office building on Teaneck Road, and a five-story medical office building on Cedar Lane over the course of the next 20 years. The Record
And finally…Hoboken issued an executive order requiring all participating bars in SantaCon to check the vaccination status of their patrons. Hudson Reporter
