OCEAN COUNTY, NJ – Twelve people in Ocean County have tested positive for the more contagious variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in the United Kingdom, the highest number of cases in New Jersey, state officials said Monday.
31 cases have been detected across the country, Judith Persichilli, the state’s health commissioner, said during her update on the virus. Of the 31 cases, three were traveling, she said. She did not say whether any of the travel-related matters came from Ocean County.
Persichilli reported four cases to Burlington County and Essex County, and neighboring Monmouth County had two. Middlesex and Morris each have two cases of the variant, and Atlantic, Hudson, Mercer, Passaic and Warren each have one case, she said.
Officials are monitoring the spread of the more contagious variant of the virus, which was only detected in Ocean County in January. The case in a man in his 60s who did not travel or had a clear exposure to others who were ill was the first in the state. That man later recovered, but officials reported in late January the death of a Wayne man who had significant underlying symptoms due to the complications of COVID-19 caused by the British variant.
The variant, first seen in the UK, is about 50 per cent more contagious than the ‘wild-type’ virus seen, according to David Cennimo, a pediatric expert in infectious diseases and assistant professor at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.
Brian Lippai, public information officer for the Ocean County Health Department, said he did not have details on the 12 Ocean County cases.
“I just know that many cases of people have traveled,” Lippai said. “This is definitely something that the state and we are monitoring. More cases can be expected, but we are still learning how much protection the new vaccines offer.”
Gov. Phil Murphy said concerns about the variant underscore the need for New Jersey residents to continue wearing masks and practicing social distance to slow the spread of the virus.
“That’s a big part of why we’re careful,” Murphy said, noting that Persichilli and her staff were “watching like a hawk.”
“We want to make sure we do not take anything unknown for granted,” he said.
The transmission rate has dropped both nationwide and in the central region of the state, which includes Ocean County. Across the country, the transmission rate was 8.5, and in Ocean County it was 8.73, Persichilli said.
And while the numbers were encouraging, Murphy said it was important to continue all efforts while the state continued to distribute the vaccine.
“It’s not the next few months for us,” he said. “Keep doing it (masks and distancing) plus the vaccine.”
Reported by Montana Samuels
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