CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE – Cape May County experienced a drop in COVID-19 cases week over week, according to the county Department of Health, which also noted a decline in the rate of infection.
To keep up the progress, residents are strongly encouraged to get vaccinated and to wear masks indoors when social distancing is difficult and ventilation not ideal, county officials said.
There was an 11 percent decrease when comparing new COVID cases reported by the Department of Health from Aug. 28 to Sept. 3 to Aug. 21-27. There were fewer than 40 new cases of COVID-19 reported on four different days last week week. The last time that happened was between July 31 and Aug. 6.
“The reinforced messaging that Cape May County initiated when the spread of the Delta variant began appears to be paying off,” said Cape May County Commissioner Jeff Pierson, liaison to the Cape May County Department of Health. “We continue to encourage people to take the COVID-19 vaccine to protect themselves and their families. Our county Department of Health continues to be out in the community every week to make getting the vaccine as easy as possible for our residents.”
The reduction in cases correlates with the county’s steady decline in the Rate of Infection (RT) over the past month. The RT is currently at 1.05, according to the website of covidactnow.com, which has been decreasing from 1.47 on July 29. If the RT is above 1.0, it can be said that the spread of COVID-19 is increasing. This is the lowest the RT has been since July 15 in the county.
Cape Regional Medical Center reported 18 COVID-positive patients on Sept. 2, compared to 20 on Aug. 26. This is also down from 28 individuals who were COVID positive at Cape Regional on Aug. 31.
The county reported four deaths attributed to COVID-19 last week – a 29-year-old male from Lower Township, a 62-year-old male from Wildwood, a 79-year-old male from Middle Township and an 87-year-old male from Upper Township.
There were 567 active cases among residents last week, about even with the week before. The most cases were in Middle Township (145), Lower Township (124), Upper Township (74), Wildwood (54) and Dennis Township (38). Other active cases included Ocean City (32), North Wildwood (28), Wildwood Crest and Woodbine (17 each), Sea Isle City (11), Avalon (8), Stone Harbor (7), Cape May (6), West Cape May (3), Cape May Point and West Wildwood (2 each).
There were 13 cases in long-term care, 11 in Middle Township, Two in Woodbine and one each in Lower and Dennis townships.
There have been 10,624 otal cases in the county since the pandemic began, along with 121 deaths among residents and 99 deaths in long-term care.
Vaccinations are available 1 to 6 p.m. every Wednesday at the Cape May County Department of Health building, 6 Moore Road, Cape May Court House.