COVID Cases Rise In Basking Ridge, Locals Asked To 'Remain Vigilant'

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — While mask mandates begin to lift in New Jersey and across the country for travel, Bernards Township Health Officials are urging residents not to follow suit and instead continue wearing masks.

"While we are seeing fewer masks, more travel plans, shorter lines for testing and less individuals receiving COVID-19 vaccinations and booster shots. I want to urge everyone to remain vigilant as the pandemic is not over," said Bernards Township Health Officer Lucy Forgione.

Forgione's message comes as the township reported an increase in COVID cases, according to the Health Department's April COVID update.

A total of 93 positive cases were reported as of April 21, which is up 18 from March when 75 cases were reported. See the full report here.

"Local cases are continuing to go up and many cases are not being reported due to home tests," said Forgione.

However, the township is not seeing an increase in hospitalizations related to COVID-19 at this time.

While a federal judge struck down the federal travel mask mandate on April 18 and Gov. Phil Murphy announced a face mask mandate lift on NJ Transit and South Jersey Transportation Authority, Forgione is encouraging the opposite. Read More: Travel Mask Mandate Struck Down: What It Means In NJ

"All residents are encouraged to continue to wear masks when in large, crowded places or while traveling," said Forgione.

She also offered a few other tips:

• Get vaccinated if you haven’t and boosted as they become available to your age group.
• If you are exposed to COVID-19 or feel sick, get tested.
• If you feel symptomatic, stay home from school or work. We have many tools at our disposal at this stage in the game such as rapid and PCR testing, therapeutics, and vaccination.

"While there appears to be a new surge of COVID-19, experts are still assessing whether it will be a small or large surge. As much as we all want to forget about COVID-19 and the pandemic that is still occurring, it’s important to pay attention to what is going on until COVID-19 truly becomes endemic," said Forgione. "Stay smart and stay safe."

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