By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
Over the past few days, the death toll from COVID-19 in Cape May County has risen to 31 and the number of cases surpassed 400. Most of the fatalities are in long-term care facilities where there are now more active cases than in the communities outside those facilities.
On Friday, May 8, the New Jersey Department of Health announced the first death of a person under 18 – a 4-year-old with an underlying health condition. The state did not release additional information. The state death toll as of Friday was 8,952 with 135,454 positive cases of COVID-19.
Cape May County still has the second fewest number of positive cases among counties in the state. Only Salem County is lower with 363 positive cases and 18 deaths. Cumberland County is reporting 28 deaths, but 1,124 cases of COVID-19.
Contrast that with north Jersey; Bergen and Hudson counties have more than 16,000 cases each with 1,329 deaths in Bergen County and 940 deaths in Hudson County. Essex County has 15,256 positive tests and 1,398 deaths.
On Thursday, May 7, the Cape May County Department of Health reported the death of an 80-year-old man from Lower Township and 15 new cases, more than half of them in Woodbine.
On Wednesday, May 6, the county reported three deaths related to COVID-19 and 25 new cases. The new victims include two men, 71 and 86 years old, from Lower Township, and a 71-year-old female from Middle Township.
As of Thursday, there were 419 total cases, including 192 who are now off quarantine. And 93 of the active cases in the county were in the communities and an additional 103 were in long-term care facilities.
Lower Township had 16 cases, plus another 46 in long-term care facilities. Eighteen deaths were in the facilities and three others in the community.
Woodbine had nine active cases and Dennis Township had eight and one fatality each. Both communities had 26 cases in long-term care facilities and two fatalities each in the facilities.
Middle Township has 18 cases, Upper Township has 14, Wildwood has 12 and Dennis Township has eight.
There are seven active cases in Ocean City, three in North Wildwood, two in West Wildwood and one each in Avalon, Cape May, West Cape May and Wildwood Crest.
There are no reported cases in Cape May Point, Sea Isle City and Stone Harbor.
