Here's How COVID-19 Is Impacting Camden County Hospital Capacity

CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ — Health officials are reporting that 510 Camden County residents are currently hospitalized with the coronavirus as the number of cases skyrockets.

Jefferson Health Chief Patient Safety and Quality Officer Dr. David P. May said that health system is seeing a dramatic increase in the number of patients being admitted with COVID-19, and in the number of patients who are dying.

Most residents who are being admitted with the virus are not vaccinated. Speaking during a news conference on Monday, he and Camden County Assistant Public Health Coordinator Caryelle Lasher said that about 20 percent of those who have been hospitalized and those who have contracted COVID-19 in Camden County overall are considered “breakthrough cases” - residents who have been vaccinated but still get sick,

Those who are unvaccinated are still seeing more severe illness, though, they said.

According to numbers provided by the Department of Health and Human Services, 417 of Jefferson Stratford Hospital’s 756 inpatient beds were occupied as of Monday, and 38 of the hospital’s 134 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds are occupied. This means 44.84 percent of inpatient beds are available, and 71.64 percent of inpatient ICU beds are available.

Here’s how Camden County’s other hospitals were doing, as of Monday:

• Virtua Hospital in Voorhees: 24.13 percent of inpatient beds available, 58.33 percent of ICU beds available
• Virtua Our Lady Lourdes in Camden: 29.71 percent of inpatient beds available, 35.62 percent of ICU beds available
• Cooper University Hospital in Camden: 12.26 percent of inpatient beds available, 38.97 percent of ICU beds available

May said Jefferson Health has not yet had to cancel any elective surgeries, but that could change as numbers increase. On Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy said there was no "magic number" at which hospitals should cancel elective surgeries, but reminded residents the surgery to remove his own malignant tumor in 2020 would have been considered "elective."

Camden County has averaged 235 new cases a day over the last week, and four residents died last week, according to Camden County Commissioner Jon Young.

On Monday, 728 new cases were reported countywide, covering Saturday, Sunday and Monday. There have now been 66,950 coronavirus cases and 1,383 coronavirus-related deaths in Camden County since the pandemic began in March 2020.

There has been an increase in the number of cases in schools, but most of the 3,000 children and staff members who have been infected got sick outside of school. Of the 728 new cases, 166 are among patients under 18 years old. The average age of the newly infected is 34 years old.

“Although this high number of cases are alarming, we can find comfort in knowing that we have vaccines that can help protect us,” Camden Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. said. “Even if you do become sick after being fully vaccinated, your chances of getting severely ill or dying from the virus are much lower than those who have chosen to stay unvaccinated. But now is the time to get your booster, all adults have been eligible for boosters for about a month and last week, Pfizer boosters were authorized for children ages 16 and 17. So please, if you haven’t already, get your booster. You can make an appointment for your first or second dose or your booster shot at the Camden County Health Hub by visiting www.CamdenCountyVaccine.com.”

As of Monday, 377,113 Camden County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 330,074 are fully vaccinated and 112,769 have received a third dose. More information regarding vaccination rates throughout the county are available on the state’s COVID-19 dashboard at covid19.nj.gov.

The Camden County Health Department is continuing to closely track new cases of COVID-19 and information regarding the prevalence of the Delta variant. New cases are often reassigned to other municipalities over the course of an investigation.