By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
Daily COVID-19 cases have risen almost nine-fold since August in Cape May County.
Cases were on a slow but steady increase from the end of July through the end of October, but spiked in November.
Over the past week, the county Department of Health reported five new fatalities with 510 active cases in the communities as of Sunday, Nov. 29, another 37 in long-term care, mostly in Ocean City, and another 17 among non-residents.
Reviewing the statistics provided by the Department of Health, there were 978 cases cumulatively through July 31. That number increased by 139 during August, an average of 4.5 cases a day. It went up another 252 in September, averaging 8.4 new cases a day, and rose another 292 cases in October, an average of 9.4 a day.
Through the first 29 days of November, cases soared in the county by 1,152 – an average of 39.7 per day.
To keep that in perspective, Cape May County, like Salem County, still has among the lowest numbers of total cases and fatalities due to COVID-19 in the state, where counties in the north have seen the biggest impact of the coronavirus.
However, the rise reflects the trends in New Jersey where the state numbers have taken a sharp rise and across the nation, where COVID-19 infections are soaring.
As of Nov. 29, there have been 2,813 cases of COVID-19 in Cape May County and 105 coronavirus-attributed fatalities, most of them in long-term care. Essex County, by comparison, has had more than 35,000 positive test results and almost 2,000 fatalities.
Statewide Monday, New Jersey’s Department of Health reported the total number of cases during the pandemic had risen to 337,304 with 15,164 confirmed deaths and another 1,829 cases probably attributed to COVID-19.
On Nov. 24, a 98-year-old Ocean City man and a 72-year-old Middle Township man died from complications of the virus, according to the county, and on Nov. 24, fatalities were a 97-year-old Ocean City woman and 78-year-old Dennis Township man. A 61-year-old Middle Township man was reported dead from the virus on Nov. 28.
As of Sunday, there were 510 active cases of COVID-19 in Cape May County communities, another 17 among non-residents and 37 in long-term care, 28 of them in Ocean City. Ocean City’s long-term care numbers are down; they hit a peak of 42 on Nov. 24.
All 17 non-resident cases were in Cape May.
Lower Township had the highest number of active cases at 134, followed by Middle Township with 82, Ocean City with 77 and Upper Township with 51.
Of the 56 new cases in the community reported Sunday, 12 were in Middle Township, 11 in Lower, and six each in Upper and Ocean City. Cape May also reported six new cases.
Active cases include 37 in North Wildwood, 33 in Wildwood, 14 in Wildwood Crest and three in West Wildwood; 18 in Cape May, eight in West Cape May and one in Cape May Point; 27 in Dennis Township, 12 in Sea Isle City, nine in Woodbine, three in Avalon and one in Stone Harbor.