Essex County Still Struggling With COVID Cases: See Local Updates

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Essex County is still struggling with coronavirus spread, according to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC has released an online map that rates counties across the nation according to their levels of COVID-19 transmission. The CDC uses four categories of threat level: low, moderate, substantial and high.

After several weeks at the “substantial” threshold, CDC officials bumped Essex County up to the “high” level in early August. That hasn't changed for the latest reporting period, which covered Aug. 19 to Aug. 25.

Story continues below

Some health officials have pointed to the more contagious delta variant as a major factor behind the recent spread. In its weekly COVID-19 Variant Surveillance Report that ended Aug. 7, the New Jersey Department of Health noted that a whopping 94.1 percent of all variant cases were the delta variety – up from 9.7 percent in December 2020.

Meanwhile, vaccination efforts continue in the area, including at the county's two operational vaccine centers in Newark and West Orange.

• See related article: COVID Vaccines, Tests In Essex County (How To Get Yours)

Essex County officials have been releasing cumulative COVID-19 totals for each town and city, noting that their daily report may not match state or municipal totals (here's why).

See the previous month of case and death totals below. NOTE: Each chart also includes the number of "new cases" and "new deaths" from the previous day.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Sign up for Patch email newsletters. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site.