Breakout in long-term care, Upper Township coronavirus also higher
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
COVID-19 claimed the lives of three Ocean City residents over the past week as active cases surpassed 400 in Cape May County.
The resort town leads the county in overall active cases with 63 in the community and a breakout in long-term care facilities, where there is an additional 20 cases.
The deaths of two nonagenarians from Ocean City were announced Saturday, a 96-year-old female and a 95-year-old male. Both were residents of a long-term care facility.
On Sunday, the Cape May County Department of Health announced the death of an 86-year-old Ocean City resident.
As of Monday, there were 374 active cases of the coronavirus among county residents, up 100 from a week earlier, as new cases have been reported at a faster pace. There also were 25 active cases in long-term care facilities and 12 active cases among non-residents.
Lower Township led with 79 of the active cases among residents, with Ocean City and Upper Township close behind with 63 and 61 cases, respectively.
On Sunday, there were 42 new cases, 16 of them in Ocean City, nine in Lower Township and five in Upper Township. On Saturday, there were 31 new cases, with seven in Lower Township and four each in Ocean City and Upper Township.
The largest number of new cases reported in a single day was Friday, Nov. 13, with 51, with 10 each in Upper, Middle and Lower townships, and four in Ocean City. There were 41 new cases on Thursday, including nine in Upper Township, eight in Lower Township and seven in Ocean City. On Wednesday, Nov. 11, there were 39 new cases, 13 of them in Lower Township and six in Upper Township.
Overall, the number of positive cases of the coronavirus since numbers starting being kept in March has reached 2,186 in the county, according to the Department of Health, as numbers surged throughout New Jersey and the nation, prompting Gov. Phil Murphy to issue new restrictions Monday. (See related story.)
There have been 99 fatalities attributed to COVID-19 in Cape May County and nearly 15,000 statewide.
Elsewhere in the county, communities with active cases included Middle Township with 56, North Wildwood with 37, Wildwood with 27, Cape May and Dennis Township with 11 each, Wildwood Crest with 10, Sea Isle City and Woodbine with five each, Avalon with four, Stone Harbor with three, West Wildwood with two and Cape May Point and West Cape May with one each.
Lower Township and Middle Township have been hit the hardest during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lower had had 484 cases, 33 fatalities in long-term care and 10 fatalities in the community. Middle Township has reported 410 cases, 10 deaths in long-term care and three in the community.
Ocean City and Upper Township have been climbing quickly in cases. Upper Township has reported 277 cases of COVID-19 and five deaths in the community attributed to it. Ocean City has had 256 cases so far, four deaths in long-term care and two in the community.