(Editor’s Note: This report has been updated Tuesday morning.)
All but three of New Jersey’s 21 counties — all of which are located in the northern part of the state — are now considered “high” risk for transmitting COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Using weeklong data through Sunday, Aug. 15, every county except Passaic, Warren and Sussex is listed as being “high” risk for transmitting COVID-19. Those three counties are considered to be at “substantial” risk for transmission.
The difference, perhaps, is negligible. The CDC recommends that 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.
But the latest data release shows the impact of the highly contagious Delta variant now can be seen throughout the state. Two weeks ago, only one county was listed as “high” risk.
The rise in risk can be seen in the state’s COVID-19 numbers, too. There are now 780 COVID-19 patients in the hospital — and 57 on ventilators. While those numbers are higher than they have been in 2-3 months, they are much lower were during previous surges. The state’s high rate of vaccination — over 5.4 million people now — should be credited.
Hunterdon County, which had dropped from “high” to “substantial,” is now back in the “high” category. Morris County was upgraded from “substantial” to “high” on Sunday.
Here’s a county-by-county list for New Jersey:
- Atlantic: High
- Bergen: High
- Burlington: High
- Camden: High
- Cape May: High
- Cumberland: High
- Essex: High
- Gloucester: High
- Hudson: High
- Hunterdon: High
- Mercer: High
- Middlesex: High
- Monmouth: High
- Morris: High
- Ocean: High
- Passaic: Substantial
- Salem: High
- Somerset: High
- Sussex: Substantial
- Union: High
- Warren: Substantial
