Coronavirus update: COVID-19 infections increase in South Jersey – WHYY

Ask us about COVID-19: What questions do you have about the coronavirus and vaccines?

South Jersey has overtaken North Jersey as the leader in COVID infections. Throughout most of the pandemic, North Jersey led the state.

Were seeing the opposite of what we experienced a year ago, New Jersey Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said Monday during the states COVID briefing.

As of Sept. 30, the Garden States positivity rate was 4.01%. When broken down by region, South Jerseys positivity rate was 5.15%. In Central Jersey, the rate was 4.68% and in North Jersey, its 3.06%.

The positivity rate is the proportion of tests that return with positive results. Five percent is the threshold at which the rate is considered too high, according to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

One year ago, the positivity rate in South Jersey was 2.56%.

The best we can look at is the gatherings for the summer, primarily in the southern portion of the state, Persichilli added, Thats the only thing I think we can point to specifically. Thats where most of the positivity is.

Dr. Ed Lifshitz, the health departments medical director, concurred, adding, There are a whole bunch of reasons why that might be happening.

Certainly, part of it has to do with the fact that over the summer months, thats where people tended to congregate more, he said.

Officials said they would be watching infections in the southern part of the state while investigating other causes for the increase in infections. Among other factors prompting the increase include the low number of vaccinations, as well as cases in adjoining states trending upward, according to the health department.

Visit link:

Coronavirus update: COVID-19 infections increase in South Jersey - WHYY