Princeton Party Guests Have Virus or Symptoms: N.J. Cases Hit 23

(Bloomberg) -- Multiple people who attended a big private party in the Ivy League town of Princeton, New Jersey, have tested positive for the new coronavirus or are complaining of symptoms.

Of 47 people who gathered on Feb. 29, three from Pennsylvania and two from Boston have tested positive, according to town health officials. Of 14 Princeton residents, nine have reported symptoms.

New Jersey has reported 23 total cases, with two possibly transmitted by community spread, cause for health officials to prepare for a potential surge. None of those confirmed so far are from Princeton.

Among the eight new patients announced since March 10, two had no contact with known virus carriers or had traveled to countries such as Italy, Japan and South Korea, according to Judy Persichilli, the New Jersey state health commissioner.

The new reported cases were: a 66-year-old Hazlet woman, a 74-year-old Edison man, a 33-year-old Teaneck man, a 58-year-old East Brunswick woman, a 17-year-old Little Silver girl, a 30-year old Teaneck man and two men ages 29 and 35 from Bergenfield. Thirty-seven other people are undergoing testing for suspected exposure.

The Edison and East Brunswick cases are the first in Middlesex County. At least two people who live in South Brunswick, which is in Middlesex and borders Princeton, had attended the party. The Boston party guests are believed to have been exposed to coronavirus at a Biogen conference, according to South Brunswick officials.

The South Brunswick school district, with more than 9,000 students, canceled classes on Wednesday as a precaution.

Previous New Jersey cases have been reported in towns including Fort Lee, Englewood, Cherry Hill, Teaneck, West New York, Clifton, Berkeley Heights, Little Silver, Hazlet, and in Little Ferry, where a 69-year-old man died on March 10.

“Community spread indicates that the coronavirus is amongst us -- we have an expectation that that may be the case,” Persichilli said. State officials were reviewing mitigation plans, she said, potentially to advise affected communities to restrict large gatherings, close schools and take other containment steps used elsewhere around the U.S.

To contact the reporter on this story: Elise Young in Trenton at eyoung30@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flynn McRoberts at fmcroberts1@bloomberg.net, Stacie Sherman, William Selway

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