Ex-Paterson councilman Ed Cotton hospitalized with coronavirus
By Jayed Rahman
Published: April 17, 2020
Former councilman Ed Cotton has been hospitalized for more than a week after contracting the new coronavirus.
“He had a really bad case of pneumonia,” said councilwoman Ruby Cotton on Thursday. She said her husband has been at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center for a week and half. “As of now, he is stable.”
The former councilman is 72 years old, making him particularly vulnerable. Cotton said she has been screened for the virus and is awaiting results.
“I feel fine,” said the councilwoman. She said she has been speaking to doctors and nurses at the hospital on a daily basis. Hospitals have severely restricted visitation due to the coronavirus pandemic. She cannot visit her husband at the hospital, she said.
The former councilman has worked as a part-time confidential aide to mayor Andre Sayegh for nearly two years. He served as the first black president of the City Council and was the first black public works director.
It’s not clear how he contracted the virus. He is among nearly 2,500 people tested positive for the virus in Paterson. Sayegh has also tested positive for the virus.
Some City Hall watchers last week had said the former councilman was ill, but they were not sure if he had contracted the virus. His illness had been kept under wraps over the past nearly two weeks.
Cotton is asking residents to pray for her husband as he fights the virus.
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