To date, 445 locals have died from complications related to the virus. Long-term care sites account for 23 percent of local cases and 67 percent of local deaths.

By Matt Skoufalos | June 29, 2020

NJDOH COVID-19 Dashboard – 6-29-20. Credit: NJ Pen.

Another 71 Camden County residents have been sickened by novel coronavirus (COVID-19) since the weekend, the county government reported Monday.

That brings the local total of residents sickened to 7,737; the local death toll remains at 445.

Throughout New Jersey, 171,272 people have been sickened by COVID-19, and 13,138 have perished from causes related to the virus; another 1,854 deaths have been deemed to be probably COVID-19-related as well.

Rate of transmission (Rt) holding steady

The statewide average of COVID-19 spot positivity testing stood at 1.92 percent June 25; in South Jersey, it’s almost double, at 3.53 percent.

Rt, or the estimated rate of transmission of new cases of the virus, was 0.86 percent on June 27, unchanged since numbers reported Friday.

That figure indicates that every person infected with COVID-19 is infecting less than one other person, on average. However, it remains up significantly from a low of 0.62 recorded on June 9.

According to the state health dashboard, on June 29, Camden County ranked second among New Jersey counties in new cases of COVID-19, with 12.

“We are continuing to see a growth rate of under one percent in Camden County, thanks in no small part to our incredible residents who have prioritized one another’s safety throughout this crisis,” said Camden County Freeholder-Director Lou Cappelli.

LTC cases and deaths

Long-term care (LTC) facilities account for almost half of all deaths in the state and one-fifth of those infected, and new cases are still being discovered there.

Of 7,737 reported local COVID-19 cases, 1,771 (23 percent) have originated in a Camden County LTC facility: 1,299 are residents and 472 are staff.

LTCs are believed to be associated with 67 percent, or 299 of the 445 total deaths in Camden County; 296 were residents and three were staff.

More than half the 56 LTCs in Camden County (30) have experienced at least one case of COVID-19.

“The number one way to prevent the spread of coronavirus, and thereby protecting yourself and others, is to wear a mask when you’re in public or when you cannot keep six feet of separation between yourself and others,” Cappelli said.

“If we take this simple action, combined with social distancing and good hand hygiene, we will save lives, and prevent coronavirus from spiking in our community.”

The newest local cases are:

  • an Audubon woman in her 50s
  • a Bellmawr man in his 30s
  • a Berlin man in his 50s
  • eight Camden City women, three each in their 30s and 50s, and two in their 40s; and six men, two each in their 20s and 40s, and one each in his 30s and 50s
  • four Cherry Hill women, two in their 80s, a teenaged girl and one in her 70s; and four men, one each in his 30s, 40s, 60s, and 70s
  • a Clementon man in his 20s
  • a Collingswood man in his 30s
  • a Gibbsboro woman in her 70s
  • a Gloucester City man in his 30s
  • seven Gloucester Township women, three in their 20s, and one each in her 40s, 50s, 60s, and 90s; and three men, one each in his 30s, 40s, and 60s
  • a Haddon Township man and woman in their 50s
  • a Haddonfield woman in her 40s and man in his 50s
  • a Lawnside woman in her 80s
  • three Lindenwold women, a young girl and one each in her 20s and 40s; and a man in his 50s
  • a Merchantville woman in her 30s
  • an Oaklyn man in his 50s
  • seven Pennsauken men, two in their 50s, and one each in his 20s, 30s, 40s, 60s, and 70s; and three women, two in their 40s and a teenaged girl
  • two Pine Hill women, a teenage girl and one in her 50s; and a man in his 50s
  • a Runnemede woman in her 60s
  • three Voorhees women, two in their 40s and one in her 80s; and a man in his 70s
  • a Winslow woman in her 50s and man in his 60s
  • a teenaged boy from Woodlynne

 

The Camden County and New Jersey Health Departments are working to facilitate trace investigations into all cases.

Read our ongoing round-up of COVID-19 coverage here.

Please support NJ Pen with a subscription. Get e-mails, follow us on FacebookTwitter, and Instagram, or try our Direct Dispatch text alerts.