Trenton Health Team warns second wave of COVID-19 could be worse than the spring

NJ records highest daily increase in coronavirus cases

FOX 29's Lauren Dugan has more New Jersey's highest daily increase in coronavirus cases.

CHERRY HILL, N.J. - New Jersey state health officials are sounding the alarm after the Garden State broke a record for the highest daily coronavirus cases for a second day in a row.

On Sunday, Governor Phil Murphy reported over 4,500 new cases in just one day. State officials also announced 18 new deaths.

Since the pandemic started, over 14,700 New Jersey residents have died from COVID-19. To put it into perspective, that’s more than the amount of people allowed inside Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

“I know someone who has died of covid so let’s just say that,” New Jersey resident Derrick Turner said. “And perhaps in time maybe all of us will, so maybe it will help us stand up and pay attention.”

In the city of Trenton, infection rates are doubling each week, according to the Trenton Health Team. They are warning the second wave could be worse than the spring outbreak.

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“This is the time when we have to take immediate action,” Executive Director of the Trenton Health Team Greg Paulson said. “We need to make hard choices now so that hopefully in the summer and spring we can get together again.”

The Trenton Health Team is a non-profit that analyzes data from hospitals in real time, through the health information exchange. They have been closely watching the spread of covid-19 in the community.

“What we are seeing now is covid is surging across the country,” said Paulson, who noted that travel nurses will not be moving to hot spots this time around. “So those nurses and doctors need to take care of patients at home and they are not able to come into our community to help us.”

Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

Neighbors we spoke with in Cherry Hill said they are hearing about more of their family and friends testing positive in the past week.

“The antenna goes up, the awareness is up, and I think the level of caution continues to go up even more in our family,” Lance Hendrix said. “I think it’s even more reason to take more precautions and try to be as safe as possible.”

Now the Trenton Health Team is calling for immediate action, especially when it comes to holiday plans.

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