Ocean City and Lower Township lead in active cases; county surpasses 500
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
Cape May County recorded its 100th coronavirus-related fatality over the weekend, a 64-year-old Middle Township woman, saw more than 300 new cases over a seven-day period and surpassed 2,500 cases since the pandemic statistics started being recorded in March
Ocean City led the county in active cases as of Monday, Nov. 23, with 121, and Lower Township was next highest with 114.
Thirty-six of Ocean City’s active cases were in long-term care. There were only four other cases in long-term care facilities the county – two in Dennis Township and one each in Lower and Middle townships.
There were 329 new cases over the past week, between Tuesday, Nov. 17, and Monday, Nov. 23, an average of 47 per day among county residents.
The recent high was on Nov. 20 with 60 reported new cases. There were 35 new cases reported Monday.
The rising cases in Cape May, Atlantic and Cumberland counties may be pushing the Southeast region of the state, as defined by the New Jersey Department of Health, into the “high risk” category of community transmission. (See related story, this edition.)
The county has now recorded 2,534 cases of the coronavirus during the pandemic. Lower Township had seen the greatest number of fatalities with 43 – 33 of them in long-term care facilities. Ocean City has recorded six fatalities, including four in long-term care.
There were 505 active cases in the communities in Cape May County as of Monday, more than seven times the lowest daily number in mid-October.
The most new active cases were in Lower Township with 12, Upper Township with eight and Ocean City and Middle Township with four each.
Upper Township had 69 active cases in the community and Middle Township had 79 as of Monday.
There were 45 active cases in North Wildwood, 33 in Wildwood, 12 in Wildwood Crest and five in West Wildwood.
Cape May reported 14 active cases –and another seven active cases among non-residents, the highest in the county.
West Cape May had four and Cape May Point had one.
Sea Isle City had nine, Dennis Township had 25, there were three each in Avalon and Stone Harbor and six in Woodbine.
The Cape May Department of Health, which provides the statistics, notes that daily reported totals include results from specimens collected on several dates.
Since the department began keeping statistics, Lower Township has had the most cases with 564 and 43 deaths, followed by Middle Township (464 and 14 deaths), Ocean City (321 and six deaths), Upper Township (320 and five deaths), Dennis Township (369 and 11 fatalities), North Wildwood (160 and three deaths), Wildwood (141 and two deaths), Woodbine (140 and 12 deaths), Wildwood Crest (63 and no deaths), Cape May (62 and two deaths), Sea Isle City (51 and two deaths), Avalon (30 and no deaths), West Wildwood (17 and no deaths), Stone Harbor (14 and no deaths), West Cape May (14 and no deaths), and Cape May Point (four cases and no deaths).