By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
All New Jersey counties remain at “very high risk” for COVID-19, but Cape May County again has the lowest number of new cases of the coronavirus.
According to the county Department of Health, Cape May County had the lowest number per capita for the fifth week in a row between April 8 and 14. Statewide, the number of new cases dropped 15 percent week over week.
The number of active cases climbed 20 percent over this point last week with 297 in the communities, none in long-term care and two among non-residents, both in Cape May.
Active cases in Ocean City and Upper Township have dropped to 28 and 31, respectively.
Middle Township and Lower Township remain the communities with the highest number of cases with 72 and 71, respectively.
Other active cases as of April 19 include Wildwood (19), Dennis Township (15), Woodbine and Wildwood Crest (14 each), North Wildwood (9), Sea Isle City (9), West Cape May (5), Cape May (4), Stone Harbor (3) and West Wildwood (2). There were no active cases in Avalon and Cape May Point.
Overall, there were no new fatalities over the past week ended April 19. The total number of cases of the coronavirus in the county was 8,334 as of Monday with the death toll standing at 199.
The number of new cases remains low with 29 reported on Monday, 11 Sunday, 36 Saturday, 32 Friday, 29 Thursday, April 15, 25 April 14 and 32 on April 13.
Cape May County continues to lead the state in vaccination rate per capita. As of Monday, 45,324 residents had received at least one vaccine dose and 35,161 had been fully vaccinated.
“The number of locations to get the COVID vaccine have greatly expanded from just a couple of weeks ago,” the county Department of Health reported. In addition to its site in Avalon, “there are more than 15 locations spread across Cape May County to get the vaccine, plus residents can use the Vaccine Megasites including the location in Atlantic City. To get a full listing of locations to receive the vaccine visit the Cape May County government website at capemaycountynj.gov and go under the ‘Find COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments’ tab.”
Statewide, there have been 860,447 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 120,589 probable cases, 22,569 confirmed deaths and 2,592 suspected deaths.
According to the website covidactnow.org, that has been cited by the Department of Health, the daily new cases per 100,000 in Cape May County are 29.8 as of Monday, April 19.
Neighboring Cumberland County is at 29.7 per 100,000, Atlantic County is at 42.3 and Salem County is at 41.0. The highest rates in the state for new cases are in Passaic (61.2 per 100,000), Sussex (54.2) and Essex (51.5).