Nearly all NJ counties have “high” COVID transmission rate

Morris, Passaic, Sussex and Warren counties are listed one rung below the highest rate with "substantial" transmission.

The CDC recommends masking up indoors in every NJ county, and remaining socially distant outside.

The U.S. is actually on pace to have one of the worst months for new COVID infections since the pandemic began more than a year and a half ago. If current trends continue, more than 3 million new cases will be logged by the end of August. That would rank this month the 4th worst since COVID began.

The news is better in states with a high vaccination rate, like New Jersey. More than 5.4 million residents are considered fully vaccinated, although the pace of new vaccinations has slowed considerably.

Hospitalizations hit 760 statewide over the weekend, with 148 people needing life supporting care. That is still way off the more than 8 thousand that were hospitalized here during the peak of the pandemic. The number is, however, the highest it has been since the middle of May.

State health officials have said most of those being admitted to the hospital are unvaccinated, but they have not released any specific data. It is unknown the ages of those hospitalized or if the have any underlying health issues.

Governor Phil Murphy remains on vacation at his posh Italian Villa, and not announced any additional COVID restrictions while he has been out of state. However, a new mask mandate and and other mitigation steps could be coming for the Fall if the current metrics continue to trend upward.

1,263 new positive COVID cases have been confirmed since Saturday, an increase of 24% from a week ago. The number of positive tests has increases more than 340% since last month. The state also reported another three COVID related deaths.