Mayor Chris Vergano announced that, as of April 26th, there are 817 positive cases of and 67 deaths relating to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wayne, New Jersey.

This is an increase of 14 cases and one death from April 25th and an increase of 144 cases and 26 deaths from a week prior on April 19th.

Although the number of new cases did not decrease as seen in the last two weekly updates, the increase of cases remains relatively stable. As of now, there are nine Wayne Township residents being treated in local hospitals for the virus.

In New Jersey, there are currently 109,038 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 5,938 confirmed deaths, a significant increase from a week ago, where the number of confirmed cases was 81,420 and the death toll 4,070.

The state still remains second among those reporting the most cases, following distantly behind New York, which has reported 282,076 total cases and 16,966 deaths.

The Passaic County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) started selling lawn signs this past week to show support for frontline workers. Each lawn sign is printed with the message “thank you to all the heroes among us” and can be purchased on the organization’s website. 

Flag of Grater Wayne—the local frontline appreciation group—is still accepting donations, all of which will go towards providing meals for frontline workers throughout Wayne. This week, they provided 1,620 meals to various groups at locations including St. Joeseph’s Hospital, Kindred Hospital, Chilton Memorial Hospital, the Wayne Police Department, the Wayne First Aid Squad, and the William Paterson COVID-19 testing site.

The organization has partnered with various local restaurants, including Gyro Grill, Outback Steakhouse, Manhattan Bagels, Anthony Franco’s Pizza, and the Wayne Hills Diner to provide such meals while also supporting local businesses.

“I would also like to thank everyone else who has made donations to Flag of Greater Wayne,” said Mayor Vergano, “We’re very grateful for the tremendous amount of support and kindness from our Wayne community in response to the pandemic to support our frontline workers and while at the same time keeping our local restaurants busy.”

Victory Athletics, a Wayne apparel printing company, has also partnered with FLAG of Greater Wayne, creating three versions of t-shirts and sweatshirts honoring frontline superheroes. 100% of proceeds from apparel sales go to FLAG to further provide for those on the frontlines. In the past week, Victory Athletics donated 1,500 dollars to the organization as a result of sales.

If interested in finding out more about FLAG of Greater Wayne, you can visit the organization’s Facebook page. If interested in purchasing clothing, you can find Victory Athletic’s order form here. For information regarding how to donate to FLAG, view this public notice.

Mayor Vergano also commended our Wayne Hills Football Team and booster club, thanking them for their work during the pandemic, including raising and matching funds and providing 1,350 meals to frontline workers in the past four weeks.

“I want to say congratulations to them,” Vergano emphasized.

He also praised the Office of Emergency Management, which has provided various materials to the police department and nursing homes, some of which include 220 googles, 66 safety glasses, 617 N-95 masks, 100 nursing caps, and 17,990 gloves.

“Together we will get through all of this. Together,” Vergano added, “To those that are out there on the front lines, on behalf of all our residents in Wayne Township, we say thank you on a job well done.”

Vergano also reiterated that the Memorial Day parade has been postponed to Labor Day and the township will be providing more information in the future.

He concluded this update by saying, “I ask you, please. Wash your hands, put on a mask, and stay away from each other.”

As always, you can view Mayor Vergano’s daily coronavirus updates on the township website, which posts new information regarding the virus on a daily basis.

To view our updates from previous weeks, click here: 3/22/20, 3/29/20, 4/5/20, 4/13/20, and 4/19/20.

Stay indoors, stay safe.