Camden County Tabbed As Area Of 'Substantial' COVID Spread By CDC

CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ — Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) labeled 10 counties in New Jersey as an area of potential spread for the coronavirus. On Monday, that number doubled, and Camden County is now on the list.

As of Monday, all of New Jersey's 21 counties except one have now entered "high" or "substantial" levels of coronavirus transmission, according to the CDC, meaning that the CDC wants residents in those counties to wear face masks again in indoor public settings — even if they've been vaccinated. Read more here: CDC Says Face Masks Should Be Worn In Nearly All NJ Counties

This includes Camden County, where the risk of the spread is considered “substantial.” The increased threat is due in part to the growing spread of the delta variant, a more transmissible, more serious version of the virus that was first identified in India.

“We have averaged roughly 50 new cases per day over the last week, versus just 10 at the start of July,” Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. said on Monday. “This pandemic is still with us, and we need everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible to stop the spread of Delta. We had hoped that COVID-19 was behind us, but the pandemic is still here, and we need to respond. This disease is preventable with the vaccines which are already available. Do not wait until it’s too late to try to get your shot. Get vaccinated right away.”

Between July 31 and Aug. 2, 143 new coronavirus cases and one new death were reported in Camden County. Since the pandemic began, there have been 50,436 cases and 1,238 deaths related to the coronavirus in Camden County, according to officials.

As of Monday, 302,904 Camden County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 277,229 are fully vaccinated. More information regarding vaccination rates throughout the county and available on the state’s COVID-19 dashboard at covid19.nj.gov.

The Camden County Board of County Commissioners and the Camden County Health Department will host a virtual town hall on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing pandemic. Cappelli will be joined by Camden County Assistant Public Health Coordinator Caryelle Lasher and Camden Mayor Vic Carstarphen.

The event begins at 1 p.m. Tuesday, and will stream live at camdencounty.com/live and on Camden County’s Facebook page. Questions from the public are already being collected on camdencounty.com, and residents will have the opportunity to submit questions during the town hall on Facebook.

"High" spread indicates over 100 new cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days. "Substantial" means between 50-99.99 cases within the same time period, and "Moderate" means 10-49.99 new cases.

The CDC is now recommending the use of face masks in workplaces, public buildings and stores for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. The CDC is also recommending universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students and visitors to K-12 schools regardless of vaccination status given the most recent public health data.

You can see the CDC's most up-to-date map of New Jersey here.

With reporting by Carly Baldwin, Patch Staff