Mayor Chris Vergano announced that, as of May 3rd, there are 937 positive cases of and 104 deaths relating to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wayne, New Jersey.

This is an increase of 31 cases from May 2nd and an increase of 120 cases and 37 deaths from a week prior on April 26th.

However, Vergano also pointed out that some of the cases are not necessarily from the day on which they were reported, and many are old cases recently entered into the state reporting system.

For example, he cited that 13 of the 31 newly positive test results from today “are from long term care facilities and are from dates ranging from 3/30 to 4/23.”

“It’s almost as if the numbers are a moving target,” Vergano said.

Vergano also commented that 75 to 80 percent of the 104 current deaths are of residents in Wayne’s twelve long term care and assisted living facilities. To see a full statistical breakdown of coronavirus demographics in Wayne, check out this public notice.

Currently, there are eight Wayne residents being treated in hospitals for coronavirus. Vergano once again emphasized that residents will be notified by public health nurses if someone around them tests positive.

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 drive through COVID-19 screening is continuing this week with an altered schedule and will only be taking place on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at William Paterson University. Those participating must have a doctors’ prescription and be a resident of Passaic County.

The William Paterson screening center is also in need of volunteers. Those with a medical background willing to help can email the organization at [email protected]

The Wayne Township parks and tennis courts are now open to the public, although both playgrounds and basketball courts remain closed.

“The playgrounds can’t possibly be disinfected in between each youngster getting off and on the swings or all the other equipment that’s there,” Vergano said, citing reasons for the closure.

The Passaic County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is continuing to sell lawn signs 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 for 20 dollars.

The Wayne Food Pantry is also accepting monetary donations in order to buy supermarket gift cards for those in need. Any donations can be mailed to the Wayne Food Pantry, PO BOX 3341, Wayne NJ, 07470.

FLAG of Greater Wayne—the local frontline appreciation group—is continuing to support frontline workers. This past week, they partnered up with local businesses and provided 1650 meals to workers and volunteers. From April 9th to May 2nd, the organization has provided a total of 5032 meals to frontline workers.

If interested in finding out more about FLAG of Greater Wayne, you can visit the organization’s Facebook page. For information regarding how to donate to FLAG, check out this public notice.

Mayor Vergano also addressed Teacher Appreciation Week, which begins on May 4th and runs through May 8th.

“I would personally like to thank all of our teachers for all they do,” he said, “and especially, they’re doing great things with distance learning. And I want to thank all our teachers from Wayne and throughout the state of New Jersey.”

In a press conference on April 30th, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced plans to hold a news meeting at noon on Monday, May 4th to present a decision regarding reopening schools amid the coronavirus pandemic. More information will be released regarding the status of Wayne schools after the conference.

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, 4/19/20, and 4/26/20.

Stay indoors, stay safe.