Associated Press: Nearly half of new US virus infections are in just 5 states. “New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey together reported 44% of the nation’s new COVID-19 infections, or nearly 197,500 new cases, in the latest available seven-day period, according to state health agency data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Total U.S. infections during the same week numbered more than 452,000.”
News12: New Jersey launches searchable site of police use-of-force reports. “The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General has launched an online database that allows the public to search reports of police use of force from across the state’s more than 500 police departments. Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said Tuesday in a statement that the new site, which his office says is a beta, or test, version, is part of an ongoing effort to increase police accountability and openness.”
WOBM: NJ launches new COVID vaccine finder tool for online appointments. “The state has launched a new web tool to better connect those eligible for COVID-19 vaccines with available appointments. A search page has been launched in ‘beta’ form, which means essentially it still is under construction, Gov. Phil Murphy announced on Wednesday at the state pandemic response briefing.”
AP: Virus fight stalls in early hot spots New York, New Jersey. “A year after becoming a global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, New York and New Jersey are back atop the list of U.S. states with the highest rates of infection. Even as the vaccination campaign has ramped up, the number of new infections in New Jersey has crept up by 37% in a little more than a month, to about 23,600 every seven days. About 54,600 people in New York tested positive for the virus in the last week, a number that has begun to inch up recently.”
Gothamist: Why COVID-19 Is Surging In New Jersey But Flat In New York. “The difference may be due to vaccine disparities. About 14% of the state’s 8.8 million residents have been fully vaccinated in New Jersey, and more than 3.6 million doses have been administered. But Black and Latino residents in the state are getting inoculated at much lower rates—5% and 7%, respectively—compared to white residents. Latinos make up about 21% of the population and Black residents about 15%.”
StateScoop: New Jersey launches child services data portal with Rutgers U.. “Hosted on the website of Rutgers University, which is located in New Brunswick, the portal includes 20 pages of data sets plotted onto maps that users can dig into, with demographic, year and county filters to better understand the landscape of child services in the Garden State. An additional map view allows users to plot data sets by age group, county or data source onto a map of the state.”
Getty Blogs: Photographing the Traces of COVID-19. “[Camilo José] Vergara sees the signs of the pandemic all around him. The murals wear facemasks. Building entrances are plastered with signs directing patrons not to enter if they are ill. Restaurants have erected tented dining areas outside, and bus drivers are separated from riders by plastic barriers. Sidewalks have become waiting rooms, and people waiting to see the dentist or doctor find themselves toughing it out on the street in the cold. Vergara is toughing it out every day, too, photographing the impact of the pandemic on New York and New Jersey, places he can reach by public transportation. His focus is laser-sharp on the virus these days, because, he says, the virus is focused on us.”
Rutgers-Camden News Now: New Jersey Residents Had a Rollercoaster 2020, Says New Study on Twitter Messages. “For Rutgers University–Camden researchers, the messages are clear: 2020 was quite the emotional rollercoaster in New Jersey. Over the past year, Dan Hart, a professor of childhood studies and psychology, and a senior vice chancellor; Sarah Allred, an associate professor of psychology; and Tory Mascuilli, a graduate psychology student, have tracked the emotional highs and lows of New Jersey’s counties by coding the content of residents’ Twitter messages.”
The Hill: New Jersey celebrities urge the state to wear a mask. “New Jersey natives Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart and Jon Bon Jovi came together to call on the state to wear a mask as part of the state’s recent ‘Mask Up!’ campaign. The singers graced the front of a billboard that displayed the words ‘Wear a friggin’ mask!’ along with a photo of the three of them social distancing and wearing black face masks.”
North Jersey: Roger that: New database helps veterans navigate assistance available throughout NJ. “More than 200 nonprofit, government programs and private companies that offer free services to veterans are in the database, and 150 more are being added. Organizations are also able to upload their own information. Roger currently features only New Jersey-based services, but the plan is to expand coverage.”
NBC News: New Jersey governor pleads with Covid-fatigued residents to choose inconvenience over death. “New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy pleaded with coronavirus-fatigued residents Thursday to keep following health guidelines, bluntly telling them the ultimate inconvenience is ‘when you die.’ Murphy rattled off a series of numbers showing how the virus is spiking in New Jersey before a reporter asked what he’d say to state residents tired of Covid-19 protocols.”
The Press of Atlantic City: NJ Coastal Coalition creates photo archive of coastal flooding hot spots. “There was no coastal flooding that day, making the hardest part walking along the side of the Black Horse Pike, cars whizzing by, keeping composure for a few seconds as Dan Skeldon and Palma Accardi, of the New Jersey Coastal Coalition, smiled and waved for the camera. The goal? To inform homeowners and visitors that, for more than 90% of the year, the shore is an easygoing, great place to be. The rest can present challenges in the form of coastal flooding.”
NBC News: Trump’s ‘reckless’ New Jersey fundraiser is under state review. “In the hours after a top aide tested positive for COVID-19 last week, President Donald Trump ignored federal health guidelines to quarantine and instead attended a fundraiser in New Jersey, where he spoke — without a mask — to more than 200 supporters. The event, at Trump’s golf course in the tony town of Bedminster, is now being investigated by state officials looking into whether it violated New Jersey’s COVID-19 restrictions on large gatherings.”
Politico: Covid-19 cases rising in New Jersey as officials prepare for second wave. “New Jersey officials say they are bracing for a second wave of the coronavirus, with the state recording 1,301 new Covid-19 cases, the highest amount in a single day since May. In a briefing on Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy described the number as ‘sobering’ and pleaded with residents to practice social distancing and wear masks.”
People: Police Break Up Gathering of Hundreds Outside House Featured in the Jersey Shore. “Police broke up a gathering of hundreds of people Monday night outside a house in New Jersey featured in The Jersey Shore. People crowded outside the residence at 1209 Boardwalk in Seaside Heights Monday night, where YouTubers the Nelk Boys were hosting a launch party for their new website.”
