Another 84 residents have tested positive for the virus, as the local death toll hits 287 lives lost. Seventy percent of all local deaths are associated with a long-term care facility.
By Matt Skoufalos | May 20, 2020
NJDOH COVID-19 Dashboard – 5-20-20. Credit: NJ DOH.
Another 84 Camden County residents have been sickened by novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Camden County government reported Wednesday, bringing the local caseload to 5,903 patients.
Throughout New Jersey, 150,399 people have been sickened by COVID-19 and 10,747 have perished from related causes.
Seven of them were Camden County residents, as the local death toll climbed to 287 fatalities.
The deceased are a Pennsauken man in his 50s and six Voorhees residents: three men, one each in his 50s, 70s, and 90s; and three women, one each in her 80s, 90s, and 100s
COVID-19 cases are doubling at least every 30 days throughout all of New Jersey, save Cumberland County, which stands at a 22-day rate, and Hunterdon County, where cases are doubling every 25 days.
The statewide average of spot positivity testing hit 18 percent on May 16, up from prior readings of 12 percent on May 14. Per capita regional hospitalizations continue to trend along comparable levels across North, Central, and South Jersey.
Spot positivity is a snapshot statistic, and the state’s report excludes serology tests, which can confirm the presence of COVID-19 antibodies but not whether the patient actively has the virus.
NJDOH COVID-19 Dashboard – 5-20-20. Credit: NJDOH.
According to the state health dashboard, Camden County is sixth among New Jersey counties in new cases of COVID-19, with 113 logged May 20.
Of 5,903 reported local COVID-19 cases, 1,264 (21 percent) have originated in a Camden County long-term care (LTC) facility: 976 are residents and 288 are staff.
LTCs are believed to be associated with 200 resident deaths and two staff deaths of the 287 total deaths in Camden County, or 70 percent.
About half of the 56 LTCs in Camden County (27) have experienced at least one case of COVID-19.
“As we approach this weekend, typically marked with visits to the shore and trips with friends and family, I want to once again ask that everyone please continue to take this threat seriously,” said Freeholder Director Lou Cappelli in a statement.
“We know that there is a delay between our actions and when their impacts become visible in our case data,” Cappelli said. “If we let our guard down now, we likely will not know the effect until June, and we will lose precious time in the intervening weeks as the virus potentially regains a foothold among us.”
“We must continue to exercise social distancing and follow public health guidance in order to break the back of this virus and minimize the loss of life in our community,” he said.
The newest local cases are:
- two Bellmawr women, one in her 80s and a teenaged girl
- 16 Camden City women, four each in their 20s and 50s, three each in their 30s and 60s, and one each in her 40s and 80s; and eight men, three each in their 60s and 70s, and one each in their 20s and 50s
- four Cherry Hill Township women, two in their 50s, and one each in her 80s and 90s; and three men, two in their 60s and one in his 30s
- a Clementon woman in her 30s
- a Collingswood woman in her 40s
- 11 Gloucester Township women, three each in their 40s and 70s, two in their 20s, one in her 80s, and two teenage girls; and four men, two in their 80s, one in his 70s, and a boy
- two Lawnside women, one each in her 20s and 50s
- five Lindenwold men, one each in his 20s and 30s, two teenage boys, and a boy under the age of 10; and four women, three in their 30s and one in her 50s
- a Merchantville teenage girl, and teenage boy
- four Pennsauken Township men, two in their 60s and one each in his 30s and 40s; and three women in their 20s
- a Pine Hill man in his 50s
- a Somerdate woman of unknown age
- a Stratford woman in her 70s
- five Voorhees Township men, two each in their 70s and 80s, and one in his 50s
- two Waterford Township women in their 60s
- two Winslow Township women, one each in her 20s and 30s; a man in his 50s and a teenaged boy
The Camden County and New Jersey Health Departments are working to facilitate trace investigations into all cases.
Read our ongoing round-up of COVID-19 coverage here.
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