Essex County COVID Cases Up 2.5 Percent: See Town Updates – Patch.com

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The coronavirus continues to impact Essex County, according to updated state statistics.

Essex County reported 66,842 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Friday, an increase of 1,648 and 2.52 percent over the previous week.

The disease’s impact is also reflected in the state Department of Health’s most recent “COVID-19 Activity Level Report,” which is issued weekly. The most recent report says Essex County is in the “orange zone” or “high activity level,” which means it has a rate of 10 to 25 cases per 100,000 people.

If the overall activity is at an “orange” level, school districts in those counties would have to take more serious steps — such as quarantining or even shutting down schools — if a child shows the symptoms of COVID-19, state officials say.

“When it is high risk, there are some recommendations that we make together with local school boards,” said Edward Lifshitz, medical director for the state Department of Health.

Some school districts in the area continue to provide remote instruction, even as the number of new daily cases has dropped in recent weeks. Read More: Judge Sides With NJ Town’s Teachers Union; No Return For Now

Essex County officials released cumulative COVID-19 totals for each town and city on Feb. 26, noting that their daily report may not match state or municipal totals (here’s why). Patch has included the U.S. Census’ most recent population estimates for each municipality.

  • Belleville – 4,339 cases, 97 deaths (population: 36,497)
  • Bloomfield – 4,116 cases, 100 deaths (population: 49,973)
  • Caldwell – 447 cases, 15 deaths (population: 7,941)
  • Cedar Grove – 1,240 cases, 119 deaths (population: 12,489)
  • East Orange – 5,293 cases, 272 deaths (population: 64,367)
  • Essex Fells – 148 cases, 2 deaths (population: 2,085)
  • Fairfield – 657 cases, 29 deaths (population: 7,474)
  • Glen Ridge – 282 cases, 11 deaths (population: 7,574)
  • Irvington – 3,463 cases, 206 deaths (population: 54,312)
  • Livingston – 1,451 cases, 81 deaths (population: 30,303)
  • Maplewood – 938 cases, 33 deaths (population: 25,380)
  • Millburn – 668 cases, 8 deaths (population: 20,080)
  • Montclair – 1,679 cases, 65 deaths (population: 38,564)
  • Newark – 30,542 cases, 871 deaths (population: 282,011)
  • North Caldwell – 357 cases, 6 deaths (population: 6,621)
  • Nutley – 2,270 cases, 55 deaths (population: 28,434)
  • Orange – 2,721 cases, 120 deaths (population: 30,551)
  • Roseland – 389 cases, 15 deaths (population: 5,835)
  • South Orange – 614 cases, 12 deaths (population: 16,691)
  • Verona – 758 cases, 16 deaths (population: 13,390)
  • West Caldwell – 826 cases, 51 deaths (population: 10,837)
  • West Orange – 3,644 cases, 217 deaths (population: 47,563)

This article contains reporting by Tom Davis, Patch staff

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