County’s Up 7 New Cases

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COURT HOUSE – April 19: The county’s confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by seven today, with no new fatalities.
Related deaths in the county remain at 13, with 153 active cases. A total of 211 individuals have tested positive since the first case was reported March 18. Forty-five individuals have sufficiently recovered and have moved off of quarantine.
Three of the new cases are located in Upper Township, bringing the total cases in the township to 24, with 19 of them still active. The other four were in Dennis Township, North Wildwood, Ocean City and Wildwood.
The county’s Health Department urged residents to remain at home, except for essential errands.  “If you must leave your home, it is important to protect yourself,” officials warned. County Health Officer Kevin Thomas said, “By social distancing, you can protect yourself and others.”
The state reported 3,915 new confirmed cases today and 132 new fatalities. The report contained information on long-term care facilities across the state, noting that 420 such facilities have at least one confirmed case.
According to state data, Cape May County has experienced confirmed cases at four long-term care facilities, with 59 total cases and nine deaths. The majority of those cases and fatalities have been linked to an outbreak at Victoria Manor, in Lower Township.
State-wide tests with known results show almost 50% of those tested have been positive for the disease. Today’s state report listed 85,301 positive tests and 85,387 negative results.
The good news in the state report was that for the fourth consecutive day the number of total hospitalizations declined. Today’s numbers put COVID-19 hospitalizations on April 18 at 7,494, down from 8,293 on April 14.
State health officials warned that hospitals in the southern counties have not yet seen their peak.