Locally, 13,334 people have been infected by the virus and 581 have died from related complications. County officials urge residents to not hold indoor gatherings, cooperate with contact tracers.
By Matt Skoufalos | November 6, 2020
NJDOH COVID-19 Dashboard – 11-6-20. Credit: NJDOH.
Camden County saw its largest single-day tally of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infections Thursday, with 242 local residents testing positive for the virus, according to reports from the Camden County government.
That brings the local impact of the pandemic to 13,334 infected residents and 581 related deaths.
“The COVID-19 virus is transmitting through our community right now at a very rapid pace,” said Camden County Freeholder Jeffrey Nash in a briefing Thursday.
“We are now reverting back to trends that we have not seen since March and April.”
On October 10, the county logged 338 new COVID-19 cases, Nash said; at the time, they represented a 41-percent week-over-week increase. By comparison, the county reported 463 new cases from November 1 through 5, and is currently averaging roughly 111 new cases a day, “the highest seven-day average we have seen in the crisis,” he said.
“Many of these cases appear to be not severe in nature, however, hospitalization in the South Jersey region is increasing,” Nash said.
As isolated cases appear in schools, students are quarantining at home due to contacts with people who are testing positive, and residents should “expect to see a similar phenomenon among the adult population in the workplace,” he said.
Contact tracers: social distancing prevents asymptomatic spread
Camden County Contact Tracer Rianna Deluca. Credit: NJ Pen.
Nash advised residents “first and foremost, do not hold indoor gatherings,” which he called “the number one cause of the spike in the pandemic.
Keeping socially distanced and masked indoors is important, Nash added, noting that “eating and drinking is not a loophole for you to exploit so that you don’t have to wear a mask.”
The freeholder also urged residents to get their flu shots and beware of the spread of that virus as the weather turns.
“We cannot afford to be fighting a public health war on two fronts,” Nash said.
Rianna DeLuca, Communicable Disease Investigator for the Camden County Health Department reminded residents that they can spread the virus at least two days before they begin to show any symptoms, “so that’s why it’s really important to social distance when you’re at work.”
“We’re seeing the trends,” DeLuca said, including transmission within households, gatherings among friends and family, indoor dining, and reports of people being at work during the infectious period before they’re aware of their COVID status.
Camden County has 60 active contact tracers, and is tapping into its surge capacity of as many as 100, DeLuca said. Anyone with questions about the contact tracing process can call 1-800-999-9045.
Throughout New Jersey, 249,380 people have been sickened by COVID-19, and 14,616 have perished from causes related to the virus. In addition to those lab-confirmed fatalities, the state also recognizes another 1,800 probable COVID-19-related deaths.
At the Camden County Office of Emergency Management, Cherry Hill Fire Chief Chris Callan oversees a delivery of personal protective gear for long-term care sites. Credit: Rich Ratner.
LTC cases and deaths
Long-term care (LTC) facilities account for almost half of all deaths in the state and one-sixth of those infected, and new cases continue to occur there.
Of 13,334 reported local COVID-19 cases, 2,246 (17 percent) have originated in a Camden County LTC facility: 1,571 are residents and 675 are staff.
LTCs are believed to be associated with 60 percent, or 346 of 581 total deaths in Camden County: 343 were residents and three were staff.
At this time, 50 of the 56 LTCs in Camden County have experienced at least one case of COVID-19.
New cases
According to the New Jersey Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard, on November 6, Camden County was fifth in the state in new COVID-19 cases, with 174.
The newest local cases (295) are:
- two Audubon women in their 20s, and a man in his 30s
- a Barrington man in his 30s
- a Bellmawr woman in her 50s, and man in his 60s
- three Berlin Borough women, one each in her 40s, 50s, and 90s; and a teenaged boy
- three Berlin Township women, one each in her 50s, 70s, and 90s
- a Brooklawn man in his 30s
- 39 Camden City women, 13 in their 40s, nine in their 20s, five each in their 30s and 50s, four in their 70s, three in their 60s, five teenaged girls, and three young girls; and 30 men, eight each in their 30s and 70s, six in their 60s, four in their 20s, three in their 40s, one in his 80s, and four teenaged boys; and a person of unknown gender in their 30s
- 12 Cherry Hill women, four in their 40s, three each in their 20s and 60s, one each in her 30s and 70s, and two teenaged girls; and nine men, three each in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, and a teenaged boy
- three Clementon women, two in their 30s and one in her 40s; and a teenaged boy, and man in his 40s
- three Collingswood men, one each in his 20s, 30s, and 40s; and two women in their 40s
- a Gibbsboro woman in her 50s
- five Gloucester City women, two in their 50s, one each in her 20s, 60s, and 80s, and a teenaged girl; and two men, one each in his 50s and 60s
- 11 Gloucester Township women, three each in their 30s and 50s, two in their 20s, one each in her 40s, 60s, and 80s, and a young girl; and four men, one each in his 20s, 40s, 50s, and 80s, three young boys, and a teenaged boy
- two Haddon Heights women in their 50s
- four Haddon Township women, two in their 20s, and one each in her 40s and 90s; and a man in his 20s
- a Lawnside man in his 50s
- two Lindenwold men, one each in his 30s and 50s; and a woman in her 20s
- two Magnolia women in their 20s, and a man in his 50s
- two Merchantville men, one each in his 20s and 50s; and a woman in her 20s
- an Oaklyn man in his 40s
- 13 Pennsauken women, four in their 50s, three in their 30s, two each in their 20s and 60s, and one each in her 40s and 70s; and 12 men, four in their 40s, three in their 30s, two each in their 20s and 60s, and one in his 50s
- two Pine Hill women, one each in her 30s and 70s; and a man in his 30s
- a Runnemede man in his 70s
- two Somerdale men, one each in his 20s and 40s, and a teenaged boy; and a woman in her 30s
- two Stratford women, one each in her 20s and 60s; and a man in his 20s
- two Voorhees women, one each in her 20s and 70s, and two young girls; and two teenaged boys, and a young boy
- three Waterford men, two in their 20s, and one in his 50s; and two women in their 60s
- 10 Winslow men, four in their 60s, three in their 20s, two in their 50s, one in his 30s, and a young boy; and six women, two each in their 20s, 30s, and 60s
The Camden County and New Jersey Health Department are working to facilitate trace investigations into all cases.
