In a dramatic increase from just a week ago, nine of New Jersey’s 21 counties are now considered to be “high” risk for transmitting COVID-19, according to the latest report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which used data for the week ending Saturday.
And the risk in every county in the state is now considered either ‘high’ or ‘substantial,’ meeting the qualification for when the CDC recommends mask wearing – even for vaccinated people in indoor settings that are crowded.
Last week, only one county (Monmouth) was placed in the ‘high’ category.
Now, Camden, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Ocean and Salem joined four counties that previously had the designation (Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland and Monmouth).
Atlantic is the only county in the seven-county Southern Jersey region that is not in the “high” risk category.
Warren County, which was once the lone county rated as having “moderate” risk has now been placed in the “substantial” category.
Here’s a county-by-county list:
- Atlantic: Substantial
- Bergen: Substantial
- Burlington: High
- Camden: High
- Cape May: High
- Cumberland: High
- Essex: Substantial
- Gloucester: High
- Hudson: Substantial
- Hunterdon: High
- Mercer: Substantial
- Middlesex: Substantial
- Monmouth: High
- Morris: Substantial
- Ocean: High
- Passaic: Substantial
- Salem: High
- Somerset: Substantial
- Sussex: Substantial
- Union: Substantial
- Warren: Substantial
