Camden County Saw 500 New Coronavirus Cases In 1 Day: Officials

CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ — Camden County saw more than 500 new coronavirus cases on Saturday as a new state report lists the risk for the virus as “high.”

Camden County reported 562 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, according to numbers provided by the Camden County Department of Health.

Another 218 were reported on Sunday, and 371 were reported on Monday. On Tuesday, 253 new cases and 11 new deaths were reported. The new deaths included:

• A Clementon man in his 50s;
• A Voorhees man in his 70s;
• A Brooklawn man in his 60s;
• A Gloucester Township woman in her 80s;
• A Cherry Hill woman in her 90s;
• A Winslow Township man in his 80s;
• A Gloucester Township man in his 50s;
• A Gloucester Township man in his 80s;
• A Pennsauken man in his 80s;
• A Haddon Township man in his 90s; and
• A Voorhees woman in her 90s.

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“While Saturday’s figure may be an outlier, it fits with the overall trend we have seen in recent weeks,” Camden County Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said. “We’ve now seen dramatically more cases in the past 23 days than we did throughout the entire summer. The driving force behind these cases continues to be small indoor gatherings. With Thanksgiving on the horizon, it is critical that we limit our exposure to others. This year’s celebrations must be kept small, and ideally limited only to those in your immediate household. We can still flatten the curve, just as we did in the spring, but it will not happen without the effort of every member of our community. Remember, if you ever start to feel sick, stay home and get tested as soon as possible.”

Camden County has now seen 18,026 cases of the coronavirus and 607 confirmed deaths related to the virus since the pandemic began. There were more than 5,000 new cases reported in November, which was more than it saw in June, July and August combined, according to Camden County Freeholder Jonathan Young.

The infection rate is 1.25 percent, meaning that every person who tests positive for the coronavirus is infecting more than one person. The test positivity rate is 11.6 percent.

The Camden County Department of Health also announced that 1,685 cases have been reported among residents and 768 cases have been reported among staff in the county’s 56 long-term care facilities. As of Tuesday, 354 residents and three staff members have died after testing positive for the coronavirus.

During a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Young said the virus is being spread in households, at work and through small, indoor gatherings. Another problem is that people keep going out after they begin to experience symptoms because they don't want to overreact to a cold or allergies.

The state Department of Health's "COVID-19 Activity Level Report," which is issued weekly, says the coronavirus activity level rose from "moderate" to "high" over the past week in 18 New Jersey counties, including Camden County. Only three counties — Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland — remain at the "moderate" level.

New Jersey's statewide activity is also at a "high" level, the DOH said, now that New Jersey's new daily case total topped 4,000 on six of the last 10 days, the first time that's ever happened. It was the first time the Garden State hit that level since May. Read more here: Coronavirus Risk Rises To ‘High’ In 18 NJ Counties: Here’s Where

Camden City is the Camden County municipality with the highest number of cases during the pandemic, with 4,464. It has seen the third highest number of deaths at 92.

Cherry Hill has had 2,220 cases and 160 deaths, the highest number of deaths in the county. Gloucester Township has had 1,907 cases and 67 deaths, while Voorhees has had 1,156 cases and 123 deaths. To see the full breakdown by town, visit camdencounty.com.

The coronavirus risk rose to "high" in each of the counties because:

• The new daily case rate in each of the counties rose to 10 or more per 100,000 people
• The percent of COVID-like illnesses rose above 5.52 in each of the counties.
• The percent of positive cases rose above 10.01.

Gov. Phil Murphy addressed the rise during an interview with CBS morning on Tuesday, saying New Jersey has been experiencing a "bad combination" of cold weather and pandemic fatigue in which too many people are letting their guard down.

With reporting by Tom Davis