Robert Wood Johnson Lights Up To Mark COVID Anniversary

New Brunswick NJ

10 March, 2021

3:53 PM

Description

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — This week, you'll notice these red and white lights up outside Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) in New Brunswick. The hospital put up the lights to mark the one-year milestone of the COVID-19 pandemic. RWJUH admitted its first COVID patient on March 7 and has since then cared for just under 3,000 patients with the virus. Robert Wood declined to tell Patch how many COVID deaths it has had. This Friday, March 12 the New Brunswick hospital will join all RWJBarnabas facilities in a moment of silence beginning at 9:15 a.m. The lights will be up beginning Wednesday evening March 10, lasting through Saturday, March 13. Red and blue beacons of light will shine skyward from the hospital's retired helipad outside its Tower Building. Also, starting Wednesday night and continuing through Saturday, March 13, the New Brunswick hospital's East Tower on Little Albany Street will be illuminated in red and blue to mark the anniversary. Also, a Republican lawmaker from Bergen County is pushing to designate March 10 as a state day of remembrance for coronavirus victims and survivors. March 10 is the day of the first recorded death in New Jersey. The day would "mark the many lives lost to COVID in New Jersey and nationally, and acknowledge the ongoing grieving and widespread loss felt throughout the pandemic," said Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips. New Jersey, a state of nine million people, has lost 23,635 lives due to COVID-19, including 21,238 confirmed deaths and 2,397 fatalities considered probable. By comparison, 12,565 New Jersey service members died in four years in World War II, 1,487 as a result of the Vietnam War, and 750 as a result of 9/11. Be the first to know what's happening in your town and area. Sign up to get Patch emails and don't miss a minute of local and state news: https://patch.com/subscribe Contact this reporter: [email protected]