COURT HOUSE – In the week ending Aug. 13, Cape May County reported 307 new Covid cases. Even with almost 150 individuals removed from quarantine, the active case total is rapidly increasing. It stands at 476, the highest amount of active cases since January.
Cape Regional Medical Center reports 13 Covid patients, with one in the intensive care unit. There were two new Covid-related fatalities this week – two women, ages 81 and 69, from Middle Township.
With over 90% of the new virus samples tested in New Jersey in the previous four weeks showing the delta variant, the culprit in the recent surge is clear.
The county’s vaccination percentage remains high relative to other state counties, with 54,644 fully vaccinated residents, according to the state dashboard. That equates to about 71% of the over-18 resident population and around 60% of the total population.
The rate at which the county is adding fully vaccinated residents has slowed dramatically. In the two weeks since the end of July, the state dashboard lists 769 new fully vaccinated residents.
Covid Act Now lists Cape May County as very high risk mainly because of the high daily new case count. The site’s county and neighborhood vulnerability mapping show a similar picture to that from the state dashboard assessment of areas of lowest vaccination rates.
The areas of the county seen as most at risk include Woodbine and West Wildwood, along with sections of Dennis and Middle townships. The dashboard municipal data suggests that Lower Township and Wildwood saw the most significant increases in fully vaccinated residents over the past four weeks.
The county’s press release detailed information on how those seeking to be vaccinated can do so (https://bit.ly/3AM23O1).
A potentially positive sign is that while the number of new community-based Covid cases continues to grow, the new case total at long-term care facilities in the county leveled off over the past week, after increasing over the three prior weeks.
