By JOHN T. WARD
Little Silver now has three presumed cases of the dangerous COVID-19 coronavirus, the borough government announced on its website Saturday.
The latest patient was identified only as an adult female resident of the borough.
“How she contracted the virus is the subject of further investigation, and those she has had contact with are being identified and notified,” the announcement said.
Mayor Bob Neff told redbankgreen the woman is self-quarantined at home.
Two borough residents, a 27-year-old man and his 17-year-old sister, were reported to be presumed positive victims of the virus last week. The younger of the pair is a student at Red Bank Regional High School in the borough, which prompted the school to become the first in the state to shut down in order to help slow the spread of the contagion.
Neff said the latest victim is neither a relative nor neighbor of the first two patients.
On Saturday, Governor Phil Murphy disclosed the state’s second death from the virus, a woman in her 50s who died at Centra State Medical Center in Freehold Township. Her place of residence was not disclosed.
According to NJ.com, the woman, who died Thursday, “was suspected of having had coronavirus, but doctors were unable to make the confirmation until testing results were returned.”
The state also reported that New Jersey’s presumed positive cases rose to 69, from 50 on Friday, including an additional Monmouth County case, bringing that total to eight.
State officials did not say where the newest patient lives and it was not immediately clear if that number included the latest Little Silver case.
Here’s the borough’s full statement:
Coronavirus Update March 14, 2020
In the six days following the first presumptive positive case of coronavirus in Little Silver, the Monmouth County Regional Health Commission has been investigating, tracking down contacts, and attempting to identify anyone who may have been exposed so that further testing can be performed. As previously reported, a close family member of the first patient tested presumptively positive the following day. Since then, we learned today (Saturday) that a single additional person has tested presumptively positive. The new presumptive positive is an adult female.  How she contracted the virus is the subject of further investigation, and those she has had contact with are being identified and notified.
We hope to learn additional details shortly, and will report them as they become available. In the meantime, please continue to do your part to contain the spread of the disease, and continue to follow the instructions of the state Department of Health and the CDC, as usual. The advice you have been hearing repeatedly – wash your hands, cancel group activities, practice social distancing, and keep children from congregating – remains in place, and the DOH and CDC recommendations should be strictly followed. For those who are contacted, please cooperate with the Monmouth County Regional Health Commission and follow their advice.
We will report further details as they become available. Students and families with those in the schools should consult the school websites for school information. Those of you who participate in the town Recreation Program should continue to monitor the recreation page for developments. Borough Hall and the Library will remain closed to the public (although employees will continue to work and are available by phone or email), and the borough’s Commissions, Committees and Boards will be asked to adjourn upcoming meetings until further notice.
We truly appreciate everyone’s cooperation under these difficult circumstances. Little Silver has always excelled during trying times with a commitment to each other, and comes out stronger on the other side. We expect nothing different this time around.
For those with questions that are not answered by the DOH and CDC websites, please call the state hotline, at 1-800-222-1222.
As more information becomes available the Borough wishes to share the following information that has been provided by the New Jersey Department of Health (3/13/20)
