Two New Covid-19 Deaths in Montgomery Township

The Montgomery Township Health Department reported two new Covid-19 deaths on Wednesday, May 20. This brings the total number of deaths in the township to seven. The township also reports 100 residents who have tested positive.

Five of the seven deaths occurred at Stonebridge at Montgomery. Sixteen residents and 29 staff members at Stonebridge have tested positive for coronavirus as of May 20, according to figures released by the NJ Health Department. No deaths have been reported for Stonebridge staff members.

Long-term care facilities throughout the state have been hit hard by the virus. There are 90,000 residents in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Nearly 20,000 residents and 9,000 staff members have tested positive from these facilities, according to the NJ Covid-19 Dashboard.

View Mayor Sadaf Jaffer's May 20th video update.

Mayor Jaffer interviewed Montgomery Township Board of Health President Jeremy Grayson, MD, an anesthesiologist working directly with COVID-19 patients at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick.

New Jersey had 150,399 residents with confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 10,747 deaths as of May 20, according the NJ Covid-19 Dashboard. More than 40 percent of the coronavirus deaths in NJ have been tied to long-term care settings. Below are statistics for Somerset County long-term care facilities.

Somerset County: 

32  Facilities with Outbreaks

913 Total Resident Cases at Long Term Care Facilities 

528 Total Staff Cases at Long Term Care Facilities 

272  Resident Deaths reported by Long Term Care Facilities*

6 Staff Deaths reported by Long Term Care Facilities*

Somerset County Long-term care facilities breakdown of resident cases and deaths:

• Foothill Acres in Hillsborough: 85 positive with 33 deaths

• Brandywine Living at Watchung: one positive with one death.

• Avalon Assisted Living at Hillsborough: 15 positive with one death

• Brandywine Living at Bridgewater: 11 positive with three deaths

• Fox Trail Senior Living Green Brook: Four positive with four deaths

• Fellowship Village Senior Living Bernards: 16 positive with four deaths

• Green Brook Regional Green Brook: 35 positive with five deaths

• Parker at Somerset: 22 positives with five deaths

• Sunrise of Basking Ridge Bernards Twp: Eight positive with five deaths

• All American Assisted Living at Hillsborough: 20 positive with five deaths

• Stonebridge at Montgomery: 16 positive with five deaths

• Brightview Assisted Living Warren Twp: Eight positive with five deaths

• Mc Auley Hall Health Center Watchung: 22 positive with six deaths

• NJ Eastern Star Home Bridgewater: 34 positive with six deaths

• The Arbor at Laurel Circle Bridgewater: 20 positive with six deaths

• Sunrise of Bridgewater: 11 positive with six deaths

• Brookdale Hillsborough: 13 positive with six deaths

• Care One at Somerset Valley Bound Brook: 28 positive with seven deaths

• The Chelsea at Warren Twp: 17 positive with seven deaths

• Bridgeway Care & Rehab Center at Hillsborough: 20 positive and eight deaths

• Spring Hills Assisted Living Facility at Franklin: 33 positive and 11 deaths

• CareOne at Somerset Valley Rehabilitation Facility Bound Brook: 58 positive and 11 deaths

• Regency Jewish Heritage Post Acute Rehab and Nursing Center Franklin: 33 positive and 12 deaths

• Martin and Edith Stein Assisted Living Residence Franklin Twp: 34 positive and 14 deaths

• Willow Creek Rehab and Care Center Franklin Twp: 54 positive and 15 deaths

• Martin and Edith Stein Assisted Living Residence Bridgewater: 76 positive and 18 deaths

• Abingdon Care and Rehab Center Green Brook Twp: 91 positive and 24 deaths

• Lyons Campus of the VA NJ Health Care System Bernards Twp: 126 positive and 39 deaths

NJ Heath Commissioner Judith Persichilli recently signed an executive directive requiring all long-term care facilities in the state to implement testing of staff and residents for the virus by May 26.

In addition, the directive provides for retesting of individuals who test negative within three to seven days to detect those with newly developed infection, and further retesting in according with CDC guidance.

Testing of vulnerable residents in long-term care facilities is essential to control the spread of COVID-19 and to identify asymptomatic but positive residents. Testing health care providers and support staff in all long-term facilities is critical because they may be unknowingly contributing to the spread of COVID-19.

Test results would be used to strengthen infection control and prevention Persichilli said.