County Reports 4 New Cases, 2 Deaths

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COURT HOUSE – May 13: Cape May County reported two additional fatalities related to COVID-19. Both individuals, a 59-year-old man and a 68-year-old man, were residents of Woodbine. The total deaths from the outbreak in Cape May County stand at 38.
The county’s Department of Health reported only four new cases, one case each in Lower Township, Ocean City, Stone Harbor and Upper Township. The case in Stone Harbor was the borough’s first, leaving Cape May Point as the only municipality without a confirmed case.
Total cases in the county edged up to 483, with 246 cases still active and 199 individuals off quarantine. Seventy-five percent of the 38 fatalities were associated with county long-term care facilities, which have proven especially vulnerable to outbreaks. More than half of the remaining active cases are also in these facilities.
The county’s small increase in cases comes on a day when Gov. Phil Murphy began easing the restrictions that have closed many county businesses and confined a large part of the population to home isolation.
Murphy signed a new order today, allowing non-essential businesses to reopen for curbside pickup transactions.  The order also permits the resumption of non-essential construction and permits drive-in gatherings for church services, graduations and similar ceremonies.