COVID Hospitalizations Rise In NJ As 'Tripledemic' Concerns Mount

NEW JERSEY — COVID-19 hospitalizations in New Jersey hit their highest mark in several months. But even with the looming threat of a "tripledemic" — the potential for a simultaneous peak of COVID, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) — mask recommendations for the Garden State remain lax.

Most of the state's COVID-mitigation protocols have ended, but the pandemic remains a factor in New Jersey life. The virus continues to show a higher concentration in the Northeast's wastewater than in the rest of the nation's — a sign of COVID's presence that becomes apparent before lagging indicators, such as hospitalizations and deaths.

State officials reported 1,164 patients with confirmed or suspected COVID were hospitalized as of Wednesday — New Jersey's highest total since Aug. 9. New Jersey's COVID-hospitalization totals have steadily grown since Sept. 18, when officials reported 841 people hospitalized with the virus.

But for the fourth straight week, federal health officials haven't imposed mask recommendations in any part of New Jersey.

The CDC adopted the community-level metric — a metric based on hospitalizations and case rates — in late February. The agency updates its color-coded COVID maps each Thursday, recommending masks in counties with "high" community levels.

Here's the latest map:

There was only one change from the prior week's map: Cumberland County jumped from the low to the medium category.

The CDC's mask recommendations do not trigger any mandates in New Jersey. People may also choose to continue masking in any setting.

Related articles:

• 'Tripledemic' Warning As Respiratory Illness Cases Rise In NJ
• Surge In Viruses Putting NJ Kids In Hospital

Meanwhile, detections of RSV — a fairly common illness that can cause breathing difficulties in young children — continue to increase in New Jersey as the virus surges early across the country. New Jersey has averaged 93 weekly cases over the past five weeks, according to the CDC, and health officials expect case totals to continue rising in the near future.

COVID By The Numbers In NJ

The Northeast region, which includes New Jersey, continues to show higher COVID levels in its wastewater than the rest of the nation. COVID wastewater levels are measured by estimated gene copies per milliliters of sewage.

Wastewater samples in the Northeast had 1,181 copies/mL during the week ending Oct. 19, according to Biobot Analytics, which monitors sewage as it relates to public health. That's higher than the rest of the nation during that timeframe, with Biobot's data showing the following: 656 copies/mL in the Midwest, 409 copies/mL in the South and 496 copies/mL in the West. See the data here.

New Jersey's transmission rate also increased to 0.99 as of Friday morning — up from 0.90 the prior week. A transmission rate lower than 1 indicates that each existing infection causes less than one new infection — a sign that the virus's spread is slowing down. But once the transmission rate surpasses 1, that indicates that the spread may be quickening.

True case totals became more difficult to calculate in recent months because of the prevalence of at-home tests that don't typically get recorded in COVID statistics. But that's where New Jersey continues to show progress.

New Jersey's reported case totals have trended downward since late September. The state showed 2,506 infections per day the week ending Sept. 25 but averaged 1,613 new daily cases for the week ending Thursday, according to federal data.

Thirty-four people in New Jersey died from the virus in the past week, according to the CDC. Federal officials reported about 3,000 deaths from COVID complications around the nation during that timeframe.

For more coronavirus numbers, visit the state health department's COVID-19 dashboard, The New York Times data page for New Jersey and the CDC's data tracker.