The drop in COVID-19 cases has been so dramatic in recent weeks that one county in New Jersey, Union, is now considered to be “low” risk for transmission by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — making it one of a small number of counties across the country to be placed in the lowest category for transmission risk.
Essex County, despite having the third-most confirmed cases among the state’s 21 counties since the start of the pandemic, is now rated as only having a “moderate” risk for transmission.
The CDC bases its guidelines on a rolling seven-day average for transmission. In this case, it was using numbers from Oct. 14-20.
The pandemic appears to be easing in some northern and central sections of the state, as Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Morris, Somerset, Middlesex and Mercer counties all were rated as having “substantial” risk of transmission.
That may not sound great, but it represents a stark turnaround from the summer. On Aug. 20, all 21 counties were considered “high” risk, levels that were maintained for weeks.
By comparison, all 67 counties in Pennsylvania remain as “high” risk.
The CDC says any county that is in the “substantial” or “high” risk range meets the level that the CDC recommends for indoor masking — even for people who are vaccinated.
Here’s a county-by-county list for New Jersey:
- Atlantic: High
- Bergen: Substantial
- Burlington: High
- Camden: High
- Cape May: High
- Cumberland: High
- Essex: Moderate
- Gloucester: High
- Hudson: Substantial
- Hunterdon: High
- Mercer: Substantial
- Middlesex: Substantial
- Monmouth: High
- Morris: Substantial
- Ocean: High
- Passaic: Substantial
- Salem: High
- Somerset: Substantial
- Sussex: High
- Union: Low
- Warren: High
