5-Year-Old Child Tests Positive for Coronavirus, New Jersey Officials Say

Cars line up to enter a coronavirus drive-thru test clinic at the San Mateo County Event Center in San Mateo, California on March 16, 2020. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A 5-year-old child from Paterson, New Jersey, has tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus along with the child’s parents, said state health officials.

Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh told news outlets on Tuesday that the husband is in his 40s and his wife in her 30s. Their other child, who is 4 years old, was tested for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, on Monday.

The family has been in self-quarantine for the past week, he said, according to NJ Advance Media. The 5-year-old remains at home and has not been hospitalized, according to state health authorities.

The husband works in Teaneck, Bergen County, which has 61 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Thirty-two of those cases have been reported in Teaneck, authorities said.

“Even before these first cases of Paterson residents were announced my administration has implemented preventative measures to practice social distancing and containment to prevent community spread,“ Sayegh said in a statement. “We ask that residents remain calm and isolate themselves as much as possible in order to do their part to reduce the spread of COVID-19.”

All of New Jersey’s public and private schools, as well as colleges and universities, are now going to close for an indefinite period of time, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday. Restaurants, bars, casinos, and other nonessential businesses were shuttered starting at 8 p.m. on Monday. Restaurants and bars can provide delivery or takeout only.

“This is not a time for selfishness. This is a time to think of those around you,” Murphy told reporters on Monday. “There are some people out there who think this is fake news. This is not fake news. This is real.”

The governors of New York and Connecticut announced similar measures on Monday.