More Than 750 COVID-19 Cases In Camden County Schools This Fall

CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ — There have been 10 outbreaks of coronavirus cases in Camden County since the beginning of this school year, health officials said on Tuesday.

Camden County Assistant Public Health Coordinator Caryelle Lasher called this number a “true testament” to how hard the districts are working as the proliferation of the delta variant spurs the ongoing pandemic.

“We’ve had over 750 students and staff test positive since the beginning of the school year,” Lasher said during a news conference. “Those positives have created over 700 contacts. With the 1,500-plus students and teachers that have been impacted by COVID this school year, I think that we are doing really well, but that has the potential to grow in the coming weeks, and I’m really concerned about that.”

As of Tuesday, there are two outbreaks in Camden County schools, with six linked cases, according to the New Jersey Health Department. The state dashboard doesn't specify where these outbreaks have occurred.

An outbreak is defined as "three or more laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases among students or staff with onsets within a 14-day period, who are epidemiologically linked within the school setting, do not share a household, and were not identified as close contacts of each other in another setting during standard case investigation or contact tracing."

As of Tuesday, there have been 57,430 coronavirus cases and 1,291 coronavirus-related deaths in Camden County since the pandemic began in March 2020.

Camden County is averaging 134 new cases a day, and the positivity rate is 9.8 percent. The infection rate is 1.0, and is trending down, according to officials.

Of the 52 new cases announced on Tuesday, 7 are among patients under 18 years old. The average age of the newly infected is 42 years old.

More than 28 percent of the new cases have been among children, Lasher said. Of the cases mentioned, 40 cases have come from in-school contact.

“We’re still seeing a lot of community transmission,” Lasher said. “People are getting it from the home. Parents are giving it to their children, children are giving it to their friends and siblings. It’s really important to keep COVID out of our schools, and keep our schools safe. Our parents and older siblings really do need to get vaccinated.”

To date, 346,358 Camden County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 305,949 are fully vaccinated and 12,837 have received a third dose.

This means a little more than 60 percent of Camden County residents have been fully vaccinated, and 68 percent have received at least one dose. Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said he would like to see the county reach a 75 percent vaccination rate, but Jefferson Health Infectious Disease Specialist Todd Levin said he would like to see it reach 80 to 90 percent.

“We’re lucky that we have vaccines that have been developed so fast, and they are great vaccines,” Levin said. “For Moderna and Pfizer, 95 percent effective in keeping you out of the hospital and from dying? That is unheard of when it comes to vaccines. We’re happy with vaccines that are 30 to 50 percent. This is absolutely astounding, and it’s amazing that science was able to do it.”

While focusing on getting people who aren’t vaccinated to get their first shot, Camden County is also taking steps to set up a site for boosters and third doses.

It is unlikely that the county will set up the site at Camden County College, where it was previously operated, because students have returned to the classroom, Cappelli said. He said the county will be making an announcement about a site soon.

More information regarding vaccination rates throughout the county and available on the state’s COVID-19 dashboard at covid19.nj.gov.

The 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.

More information regarding Camden County's preparations and response related to the COVID-19 pandemic is available by visiting camdencounty.com. Residents should frequently check the county webpage and social media for up-to-date information.