Hospitalizations and ventilator use continue to decline from weeks-ago highs even as deaths still mount and new cases climb in South Jersey.
By Matt Skoufalos | May 17, 2020
NJDOH COVID-19 Dashboard – 5-17-20. Credit: NJ Pen.
Another 1,272 New Jersey residents have tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the statewide total to 146,334 cases, Governor Phil Murphy reported Sunday.
Sadly, 107 more New Jerseyans perished from complications related to the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 10,356 lives lost during the pandemic.
Throughout New Jersey, 3,411 people are hospitalized with a case of COVID-19, or while awaiting confirmation of their symptoms.
Of those 3,411 patients, 1,030 are in intensive or critical care; 819 (79 percent) are on ventilators.
In the past 24 hours, 71 New Jersey hospitals discharged 333 COVID-19 patients, either to a lower-acuity care setting or to their homes.
Across New Jersey, 527 long-term care (LTC) centers have reported at least one case of COVID-19, and account for 27,977 infected people statewide (24 percent) and 5,376 deaths (52 percent).
Of 673 veterans residing in a state-run home, 381 residents have tested positive for the virus, and 140 have died from complications related to the virus. At state-run psychiatric facilities, 202 of 1,250 patients have tested positive for COVID-19 and 13 people have died from complications related to the virus.
Forty patients are presently receiving care at one of the state’s field medical stations, which have served 449 people in total.
NJDOH COVID-19 Dashboard – 5-17-20. Credit: NJDOH.
COVID-19 continues to spread throughout South Jersey, where Camden County ranks eighth in the state in new cases, with 73, according to the statewide dashboard.
The county government announced 103 new cases Sunday, bringing the local total to 5,644 cases and 262 related fatalities.
Of those 5,644 local COVID-19 cases, 1,206 have originated in a Camden County long-term care (LTC) facility, or 21 percent.
LTCs are believed to be associated with 198 of 262 total local deaths, or 76 percent.
About half the 56 LTCs in Camden County (27) have experienced at least one case of COVID-19.
“Every day that this pandemic continues is an opportunity to strengthen our resolve and implement effective mitigation strategies into our daily lives,” said Freeholder Director Lou Cappelli in a statement.
“While I know that the large majority of Camden County residents have been extremely vigilant during this crisis, I want to again implore our entire community to take this fight seriously,” Cappelli said.
“We must all continue to exercise stringent social distancing if we are going to defeat this virus, and as more of our economy reopens, the onus will be on each of us to safely choose when we should be around others and how to protect ourselves and those nearby,” he said.
“This is still a real threat, but we can recover if we continue to fight with the tools at our disposal.”
The newest local cases are:
- an Audubon Park woman in her 70s
- a Barrington man in his 20s
- a Bellmawr woman in her 40s, and man in his 60s
- two Berlin women, one each in her 30s and 60s
- 16 Camden City women, four each in their 40s and 50s, three in their 60s, two each in their 20s and 30s, and one in her 70s; and 13 men, seven in their 40s, three in their 30s, two in their 60s, and one in his 20s
- five Cherry Hill Township men, three in their 40s, and one each in his 20s and 60s; and a woman in her 70s
- a Chesilhurst man in his 20s
- a Clementon woman in her 20s
- a Collingswood woman in her 20s
- a Gloucester City man in his 60s
- five Gloucester Township men, two in their 30s, and one each in his 20s, 40s, and 60s; and two women, one each in her 30s and 40s
- a Haddon Heights man in his 50s
- a Haddon Township man in his 30s
- a Laurel Springs man in his 30s
- eight Lindenwold women, five in their 20s, and one each in her 30s, 40s, and 50s; and two men, one each in his 20s and 30s
- a Merchantville woman in her 40s
- a Mount Ephraim man in his 40s
- four Pennsauken Township women, one each in her 20s, 30s, and 40s, and a teenaged girl; and three men, one each in his 30s, 40s, and 60s
- a Pine Hill woman in her 40s
- a Somerdale man in his 60s
- a Stratford man in his 60s
- 20 Voorhees Township women, 10 in their 80s, eight in their 70s, and two in their 60s; and four men, one each in his 50s, 60s, and 80s, and one of unknown age
- two Winslow Township women, one each in her 40s and 70s
The Camden County and New Jersey Health Departments are working to facilitate trace investigations into all cases.
