A letter from County Executive Brian M. Hughes
Dear Mercer County Community,
Four weeks ago, the New Jersey Department of Health announced the first positive case of coronavirus disease in Mercer County. As of today, the Health Department reports 1,282 cases in Mercer and 39 deaths.
I send my heartfelt condolences to all who have lost family members and friends to COVID-19 as the pandemic continues to turn our lives upside down.
The increase in positive cases is a result of both community spread and increased testing for COVID-19, and we expect the number of positive cases to continue to rise. But I can assure you that we are continuing to do everything we can to protect the health and well-being of our residents.
Mercer County, in collaboration with health care partners, opened an appointment-only, drive-up testing site for COVID-19 at Quaker Bridge Mall in Lawrence on March 31. Through today, the center has tested more than 900 symptomatic individuals, and we are geared up to continue testing at that site next week.
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We also have worked with our partners to make testing for COVID-19 available in the City of Trenton beginning Monday. Pop-up test sites will be open in each Trenton ward one day a week. Testing at both Quaker Bridge Mall and the pop-up sites is for Mercer County residents who are symptomatic for COVID-19 and have an appointment scheduled through their primary health care practitioner.
To get a test, contact your doctor. If a test is needed, your doctor will fax a prescription to the Mercer County health call center at 609-630-4031, and the center will contact you. If you voice an inability to get to Quaker Bridge Mall, you will be offered an appointment at a pop-up site along with instructions. If you don’t have a doctor, call the Henry J. Austin Health Center in Trenton at 609-278-5900 to arrange for screening. Again, you must have an appointment to be tested.
We recognize the need to reach pockets of our communities that cannot get to the Quaker Bridge Mall for COVID-19 testing, and we will continue those efforts. I thank Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton, Capital Health System, St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, Trenton Health Team, Henry J. Austin Health Center, the City of Trenton, Lawrence Township and Quaker Bridge Mall management for collaborating with the County on setting up these test sites.
The grim reality for all of us is that the most effective way to slow the spread and flatten the curve of COVID-19 is to continue to practice social distancing at all times. That means adhering to the statewide mandate to stay at home. If you must go out, keep at least 6 feet from others. And continue to take everyday preventive measures: wash your hands frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds, cover coughs and sneezes, and clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.
Health experts say this approach has been effective, but now is not the time to take our foot off the gas. Everyone’s continued commitment to these measures is necessary to keep us safe, take the pressure off our health care system, and enable us to return to a normal way of life as soon as possible.
Finally, thank you to our heroic first responders and health care professionals for your extraordinary efforts as you battle on the front lines of this pandemic. Thank you to the grocery and drug store workers, restaurant staff, delivery drivers, educators, public servants and other essential workers who are keeping our communities functioning. And thank you, everyone, for making the daily sacrifices necessary to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
Let’s continue to stay home, practice social distancing, wash our hands and help our neighbors. If we work together, we WILL get through this crisis.
Brian M. Hughes
Mercer County Executive
HAVE GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT COVID-19?
The NJ Poison Control Center and 211 have partnered with the State to provide information to the public on COVID-19:
Call: 2-1-1
Call (24/7): 1-800-962-1253
Text: NJCOVID to 898-211
Visit covid19.nj.gov or nj.gov/health for additional information
PREVENTION
To ensure the lowest chance of obtaining the virus, and spreading the virus to others:
- Practice social distancing
- Avoid touching your nose, eyes and mouth
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash
- Wash your hands frequently, especially before eating, after exiting a densely populated area, and after coughing and sneezing
- Disinfect personal items regularly
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SYMPTOMS
Symptoms – fever, cough, shortness of breath – can appear between 2-14 days after exposure, though some people may not have any symptoms while still being contagious. It's also important to consider whether you've been in contact with an infected person, as well as any symptoms you may be experiencing.
If you believe you've been infected and you are not in immediate danger, you should contact your doctor by phone. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911, and notify the dispatch personnel that you may have COVID-19.
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COPING WITH STRESS
If you’re feeling stressed, anxious or depressed due to COVID-19, please call New Jersey's Mental Health Hotline at 877-294-HELP (4357) or visit njmentalhealthcares.org for emotional support, guidance, and mental health referrals as needed. You also may call the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 (TTY 1-800-846-8517).
GENERAL PUBLIC FAQs
New Jersey’s COVID-19 Information Hub provides answers to frequently asked questions the public may have about coronavirus disease.
CONSUMER COMPLAINTS
If you receive a call from a scammer or suspect price gouging, please report it to the Division of Consumer Affairs at (973) 504-6240 or at www.njconsumeraffairs.gov.
CURRENT STATUS
The New Jersey Department of Health on April 10 announced 3,627 new positive cases, bringing the total of positive cases in the state to 54,588 with 1,932 deaths. The most positive cases are in Bergen County, which has 8,928; Mercer County has 1,282, with 39 deaths. To view Mercer County data by municipality, please visit the Mercer County COVID-19 Dashboard. Please note that municipal data lags behind the state data and will update as information becomes available. Visit the New Jersey Department of Health's COVID-19 Dashboard for more statewide information.
The CDC on April 10 announced a total of 459,165 cases of COVID-19 in the United States, and a total of 16,570 deaths, with 55 locations (50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, North Mariana Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands) reporting cases. This includes both confirmed and presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 reported to CDC or tested at CDC since Jan. 21, 2020. State and local public health departments are now testing and publicly reporting their cases.
This is a rapidly evolving situation. For more information about COVID-19 visit covid19.nj.gov or cdc.gov.
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