Officials in New Jersey reported 10 new outbreaks of the coronavirus, which according to the latest figures on Tuesday were 131 outbreaks and 629 cases linked among students, teachers and school staff.
According to the COVID-19 dashboard, the outbreaks – defined as cases in which it was confirmed that people contracted or transmitted the virus in the classroom or during academic activities – were in all 21 provinces.
One outbreak at a school in Essex County has been linked to 92 cases.
The names of the schools were not disclosed to protect the privacy of children and school staff who tested positive, government officials said.
Government Phil Murphy said social rules and safety measures designed to keep students and teachers safe in schools mostly work. But schools are certainly not hitting a thousand, the governor said.
Murphy, who has said he does not want to order a closure of the entire school, allows local districts to decide for themselves whether to hold personal lessons or switch to virtual learning. Some have not had any personal classes this school year.
The Newark School District, the state’s largest district, returned to classrooms by April 12. Jersey City is expanding distance education through April 21 and Trenton has pushed the return to personal classes until May.
Hillside’s school district has already planned to remain remote until the end of the school year.
Cases for the coronavirus dropped last week in all six states in New Jersey that are monitored by the state and used by school districts to evaluate the risk in educational settings.
But for the ninth consecutive week, all 21 provinces are orange, indicating ‘high’ coronavirus activity, according to data released by the state Department of Health on Thursday.
Health officials in New Jersey reported another 4,117 confirmed cases and 133 additional deaths on Tuesday, as the state surpassed 600,000 confirmed cases on the same day as hitting 600,000 vaccinations.
The state’s seven-day average for newly confirmed COVID-19 positive tests is 4,416, a 13% drop from a week ago and a 3% drop from a month ago, as the numbers are still the sign of the pandemic’s second wave begins to show.
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The total number of school cases per country is:
- Bergen County: 29 confirmed outbreaks and 121 linked cases
- Camden county: 13 confirmed outbreaks and 66 linked cases
- Salem county: 13 confirmed outbreaks and 43 linked cases
- Cape May County: 8 confirmed outbreaks and 23 linked cases
- Burlington county: 7 confirmed outbreaks and 24 linked cases
- Gloucester County: 7 confirmed outbreaks and 41 linked cases
- Monmouth county: 7 confirmed outbreaks and 21 linked cases
- Cumberland county: 6 confirmed outbreaks and 14 linked cases
- Passaic County: 6 confirmed outbreaks and 27 linked cases
- Atlantic county: 5 confirmed outbreaks and 14 linked cases
- Ocean county: 5 confirmed outbreaks and 42 linked cases
- Sussex county: 5 confirmed outbreaks and 13 linked cases
- Warren county: 5 confirmed outbreaks and 12 linked cases
- Mercer county: 3 confirmed outbreaks and 14 linked cases
- Somerset county: 3 confirmed outbreaks and 9 linked cases
- Hudson County: 2 confirmed outbreaks and 10 linked cases
- Hunterdon County: 2 confirmed outbreaks and 7 linked cases
- Morris county: 2 confirmed outbreaks and 10 linked cases
- Essex county: 1 confirmed outbreaks and 92 linked cases
The state’s totals do not include cases related to school sports teams or cases in which contact detectives could not decide whether students and teachers contracted the virus within their schools.
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Matt Arco can be reached at [email protected].