Paterson reports 2,931 total coronavirus cases
By Jayed Rahman
Published: April 20, 2020
The number of coronavirus infections in Paterson increased by 119 on Monday to a total of 2,931, according to municipal government data.
64 people have died from Covid-19 in Paterson. No fatalities were reported on Monday. Some council members questioned the fatality number on Monday evening. Council president Maritza Davila said the death number is much higher.
“People are dying in the city of Paterson,” said Davila. “The city of Paterson has a problem reporting numbers.”
Davila said the death tally remained the same for a seven-day span. She said she knows people who died in that span of time. Some people, suspected to be Covid-19 victims, have died in their homes, but were never tested for the virus, officials said. She also questioned the number of confirmed cases by citing numbers from the Passaic County government.
Paterson has 3,117 infections, according to Passaic County data. Municipal officials said that figure likely includes duplicate cases. Health officer Paul Persaud said the city’s numbers are the most accurate. His staff has been investigating each of the cases, he said.
Paterson has the biggest outbreak of the virus in Passaic County. Clifton has the second largest outbreak with 1,460 infections and 47 deaths. Passaic County has 8,479 confirmed cases with 263 deaths. Overall, New Jersey had 88,806 infections with 4,377 deaths on Monday afternoon.
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