At the time of this writing, New Jersey has 6,876 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus. This makes New Jersey the state with the second most confirmed cases in the U.S. behind New York. (New York has a whopping 38,987 cases.) With so many infected, the state's hospitals are feeling the strain of the surge of new patients. For this reason, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared on Wednesday that several sites across New Jersey will be converted to field hospitals to handle the overload of patients. One of those sites will be the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus.
The Meadowlands Expo Center has been closed due to the ban on large gatherings, and its scheduled programs have already been postponed/cancelled. So the use of the building as a field hospital will not affect any existing or upcoming events. The conversion is currently being completed by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.
Naturally, the establishment of a field hospital in Secaucus raises concerns for local residents. Many are afraid that a field hospital in town will further expose the community to the virus, increasing the number of those infected. (Secaucus currently has 13 confirmed cases.) This is especially the case given the location of the Meadowlands Exposition Center. It is just one block away from the Walmart/Sam's Club shopping complex, where many Secaucus residents go for their groceries and household items. Although all the proper precautions will be taken by the hospital staff, it is still inevitable for nearby residents to have concerns.
To address the issue, Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli issued the following statement yesterday.
"We did have a conference call today with representatives from the State regarding some of the details, which are still being finalized. We have been assured this facility will NOT be used for any COVID-19 cases. It is anticipated the facility will provide sub-acute care for area hospitals as it is expected there will be a need for additional beds over the coming weeks. We will be working with the Public Information Officer for the State on a more complete announcement and will post more details as soon as they are known."
Of course, given the current situation, plans are always subject to change on a daily basis. But for now, there seems to be no cause for alarm for local residents. And hopefully, the establishment of these new field hospitals will help allow existing hospitals to concentrate on the fight of the Coronavirus.
