New Jersey Leads the Nation in the Spread of COVID 19

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, New Jersey’s autumn/winter surge peaked in early January and then leveled off briefly from February 19-February 26 before increasing again. Unlike many states, New Jersey’s daily incidence only declined 50%—from approximately 6,000 new cases per day** to 3,000—before rebounding. New Jersey is now reporting 3,980 new cases per day, higher than its first peak in April 2020, and increasing steadily.

Governor Phil Murphy admitted at the March 22nd press conference , “We are back to leading the nation in the spread of this virus. There is no magic wand that Judy, Tina Pat or I can wave to stop the spread. Only you all, by the millions, can stop the spread of this virus. As I have said and we have said repeatedly, the presence of vaccines — which is great, and we’re among the nation’s leaders in getting the shots into arms — it does not mean the pandemic is over. We still have work to do together.”

“while we may finally have COVID on the run, the mere presence of vaccines does not mean we are out of the woods, and here’s your proof. Today, we’re announcing another 3,305 cumulative positive PCR and presumed positive rapid tests. On Thursday, a total of 45,099 PCR tests were recorded with a positivity rate of 8.48%, and the rate of viral transmission today remains over one, 1.09. And Judy, you’ve said it as recently as Wednesday when we were here, I suspect you’d say it again today. Our gut tells us that that’s going to go up again from there.

“Please remember that even if you are vaccinated, the vaccine only protects you from developing severe COVID. It does not make you bulletproof and you are still capable of spreading the virus to those around you who have not yet been vaccinated. And even if you are fully vaccinated, you have to keep wearing your face mask or masks. As we’ve discussed numerous times here, a face mask helps trap the potentially contagious droplets you are exhaling from infecting others. And even if you are vaccinated, you still need to wash your hands regularly with soap and water and to maintain social distances from others.”

“Being vaccinated does not mean that you become incapable of spreading the virus. Until we reach our vaccination goal. We all have to continue wearing our face masks, taking precautions and using common sense. And the vaccine is a measure of protection for you against developing severe COVID and requiring hospitalization. That is true, but it is not, in and of itself, a magic wand”