Josefina Viruet, a 79-year-old Hoboken woman who was the mother of a firefighter and a retired police officer, as well as the grandmother of a police officer, died due to complications from COVID-19 yesterday.
We stand in solidarity with each other and with Hoboken.
Tonight, we pay tribute to FF Dan Soto, PO Frank Soto (ret), PO Tyler Soto, and PO Chris Soto who just lost their mother/grandmother. We offer our deepest condolences. @HobokenFire @HobokenPD @CityofHoboken@PAPD911 pic.twitter.com/kWWnGcArzR
— Hoboken Fire Dept (@HobokenFire) April 12, 2020
“Today, the Hoboken Health Department reported an additional 15 confirmed COVID-19 cases for a total of 293 cases, with an unfortunate two fatalities as a female in her early 80s and another female in her late 70s,” Mayor Ravi Bhalla said last night.
“It’s a sad reality that those most impacted are our seniors, especially those with pre-existing conditions … I’m saddened to share that one of our recently deceased was Josefina Viruet, a 79-year-old who lived on Hudson Street. Josie was well known in the community for her routine of walking her dog and stopping to chat with police officers by the headquarters every day.”
Viruet was the mother of firefighter Danny Soto and retired Police Officer Frank Soto, as well as the grandmother of Officer Tyler Soto.
Yesterday evening, members of the police and fire departments lined up their vehicles on Washington Street and blared their sirens to pay tribute to Viruet.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Danny Soto indicated that his mother was still stable and that he was at her Marion Towers apartment cleaning, asking friends and family for their continued prayers.
Saturday afternoon, the New Jersey Department of Health announced that there are now 58,151 COVID-19 cases and 2,183 deaths statewide, including 6,851 cases in Hudson County and 183 fatalities – the third most in the state by county.
Sad and tragic but the use of so MANY public safety vehicles for this seems a bit much, especially blocking streets.