Five-year-old child becomes Paterson’s third positive coronavirus case
By Jayed Rahman
Published: March 16, 2020
A five-year-old child has tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in Paterson to three, according to municipal officials.
Municipal officials had previously announced the child’s parents – father in his 40s and mother in her 30s — were tested positive for Covid-19. The father, who works in Teaneck, likely contracted the virus from Bergen County, officials said.
Health officials are monitoring the family which has been placed in isolation at their home. A second child is also being tested for the virus.
Neither of the youngsters attend Paterson Public Schools or any schools in the city.
Previously, well-known doctor James Pruden, 70-year-old, who is head of emergency preparedness at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, tested positive for the virus. He is currently in critical but stable condition at the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Pruden is a resident of Teaneck, a city that was placed under lockdown over the weekend due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
Pruden’s case is considered a Bergen County case.
Passaic County has 8 cases of the new coronavirus. Paterson is the largest city in Passaic County. Overall, New Jersey has 178 positive cases of Covid-19. 2 people have died. And 20 people are under investigation, according to the New Jersey Department of Health.
Mayor Andre Sayegh has declared a state of emergency after the first two cases. His executive order places the city under lockdown from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
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Updated 2:30 p.m.