Those sickened by the virus are trending more than 20 years younger than they were four months ago, at the peak of infections in the state. Officials track spread of the virus to social gatherings and intra-family transmissions.
By Matt Skoufalos | August 13, 2020
NJDOH COVID-19 Dashboard – 8-13-20. Credit: NJDOH.
Five months into the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, younger Camden County residents are contracting the virus and spreading it to friends and immediate family members, officials report.
In a briefing Thursday, Camden County Freeholder-Director Lou Cappelli said the average age of people infected with the virus has fallen by more than 20 years.
In April 2020, at the statewide peak of the pandemic, the average COVID-19 patient was older than 50; in August, he or she is 31.
Moreover, Cappelli said reports from contact tracers indicate that younger county residents who are testing positive are “going to the shore, hanging out at house parties at the shore and at home, [and] going to bars that are not in compliance with CDC recommendations.”
Those who contract the virus then typically infect others within their households, the Freeholder-Director said.
“Right now, the majority of cases in Camden County are family members spreading it to family members,” Cappelli said. “That’s the number-one place the virus is being transmitted right now.
“Young folks, beware: you are not immune,” he said. “It has nothing to do with an increase in testing.”
All told, 9,290 local people have been sickened by the virus, and 551 have perished from related complications. The most recent COVID-19-related fatality in Camden County was announced Thursday: a Voorhees man in his 60s.
Throughout New Jersey, 186,594 people have been sickened by COVID-19, and 14,054 have perished from causes related to the virus. In addition to those lab-confirmed fatalities, the state also recognizes another 1,839 probable COVID-19-related deaths.
$5 million more CARES Act grants available
In Thursday’s update, Camden County also announced that an additional $5 million in relief grants has been made available for local small businesses affected by the pandemic. In all, the county has been allocated $25 million of New Jersey’s federal CARES Act funds.
Eligible small businesses must have been operating within the county since January 1, 2019, having earned $5 million or less that year. They must have a staff of 25 or fewer, and must be able to demonstrate that the pandemic has harmed their business. Banks, e-commerce businesses, or those whose primary products or services are limited to customers of certain ages are excluded from applying.
For more information, call 833-487-0462, or visit the program application portal.
Finally, Cappelli also noted the economic impact of the pandemic on Camden County, in which 80,000 residents have filed unemployment claims (17 percent of the population), which he described as “recession/depression-type rates.”
Camden County OEM ships PPE to long-term care sites across the county. Credit: Rich Ratner.
LTC cases and deaths
Long-term care (LTC) facilities account for almost half of all deaths in the state and one-fifth of those infected, and new cases are still being discovered there.
Of 9,290 reported local COVID-19 cases, 1,870 (20 percent) have originated in a Camden County LTC facility: 1,340 are residents and 530 are staff.
LTCs are believed to be associated with 57 percent, or 314 of the 551 total deaths in Camden County; 311 were residents and three were staff.
More than half the 56 LTCs in Camden County (34) have experienced at least one case of COVID-19.
New cases
According to the New Jersey Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard, on August 13, Camden County was second in the state in new COVID-19 cases, with 48.
The newest local cases (109) are:
- an Audubon man in his 20s and woman in her 50s
- two Bellmawr men, one each in his 30s and 40s; and a woman in her 20s
- three Berlin women, one each in her 20s, 30s, and 80s, and a teenaged girl; and a man in his 20s
- a Brooklawn woman in her 20s
- eight Camden City women, three in their 30s, two each in their 20s and 50s, one in her 40s, and two teenaged girls; and eight men, three in their 50s, two in their 30s, one each in his 20s, 60s, and 70s, and a teenaged boy
- six Cherry Hill men, two each in their 40s and 80s, one each in his 30s and 70s; and a woman in her 20s
- a Clementon woman in her 60s and a teenaged girl
- four Collingswood women, two in their 20s and one each in her 30s and 60s; and two men, one each in his 20s and 60s
- a Gloucester City woman in her 80s
- nine Gloucester Township women, two each in their 20s, 30s, and 50s, one each in her 40s, 60s, and 70s, and two teenaged girls; and four men, two in their 30s and one each in his 20s and 60s
- a Haddon Township teenaged girl, and man in his 30s
- a Haddonfield woman in her 20s
- a Lindenwold woman in her 20s
- a Merchantville woman in her 20s
- an Oaklyn woman in her 20s, and man in his 30s
- nine Pennsauken women, three in their 40s, two in their 30s, one each in her 20s, 50s, 70s, and 90s, two teenaged girls, and a young girl; and eight men, four in their 20s, two each in their 40s, and 70s, and two teenaged boys
- a young boy from Pine Hill
- a Somerdale man in his 20s, and woman in her 30s
- five Voorhees men, three in their 20s, and two in their 30s; and a woman in her 20s
- a Waterford man in his 30s
- five Winslow men, three in their 30s, one each in his 50s and 60s, and a young boy; and three women, two in their 50s, and one in her 20s
The Camden County and New Jersey Health Department are working to facilitate trace investigations into all cases.
Read our ongoing round-up of COVID-19 coverage here.
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