DOH Announces 2 Additional Coronavirus-related Deaths

To access the Herald’s local coronavirus/COVID-19 coverage, click here.
COURT HOUSE – APRIL 22: The Cape May County Department of Health (DOH) reported two new fatalities associated with COVID-19. Both deaths were in Lower Township, but the county report does not indicate if they are associated with the outbreak at the Victoria Manor long-term care facility.
Both of the new fatalities are male, one 97 years old and other 77 years old. Their passing brings the deaths in the county to 17, with 13 of those in Lower Township.
Today’s report also listed three new active cases, one each in Lower, Middle and Upper townships. The total number of positive tests is now 224.  Of those, 145 remain active cases and 52 represent individuals who have recovered sufficiently to be removed from quarantine.
The county press release referred those interested in data on the impact of the virus in long-term facilities to a new listing maintained by the state’s Department of Health. That state list shows a total of 69 cases in six long-term care facilities in Cape May County. What appears to be a discrepancy is visible, since the state list reports five active cases at the Woodbine Developmental Center when the county health department totals for all cases only shows one active case and one death in Woodbine.
Whether or not this is a matter of timing in compiling the two lists or a difference in how cases are categorized is not immediately clear.  If the numbers on the state list involve employees, those counts could then be reverting to the home location of the employee and not necessarily appearing on the county list for Woodbine.  
On the state list Victoria Manor, in Lower Township, is listed with 52 total cases. Genesis Court House Centers shows four cases, North Cape Mat Center two, Victoria Commons, also in North Cape May, one, Autumn Lakes Healthcare at Ocean View is listed with five cases, and Woodbine Developmental Center has five.
In the state’s briefing today, there were 314 new deaths reported, bringing the cumulative fatality total to 5,063. The total number of positive cases is nearing a new threshold, as it reached 95,865.
The state data also indicated the grim toll the virus is taking on the state’s oldest residents. Of the over 5,000 deaths, 78% have been individuals 65 years of age or older, and 45% of the fatalities have hit those 80 years old or older.