More Masks Recommended In NJ As BA.5 COVID Threat Emerges

NEW JERSEY — The CDC expanded mask recommendations for New Jersey, advising six counties to wear masks in indoor, public spaces. The guidance comes as COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state increased for a second-straight week and while BA.5 — a highly contagious strain of the virus — continues to emerge.

The CDC recommends masking in counties with "high" COVID-19 community levels — a metric based on hospitalizations and case rates that the agency adopted in late February. The agency updates its color-coded COVID-19 maps each Thursday.

This week, the CDC recommended masking in Morris, Monmouth, Burlington, Camden, Atlantic and Cape May Counties. Morris and Camden Counties were in the "medium" category last week.

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

About BA.5

Omicron subvariant BA.5 appears to be the most transmissible COVID strain yet — even among those recently infected with COVID. While currently available vaccines still work well to prevent severe sickness and death, their effectiveness has diminished in stopping infections, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The emerging subvariant became the most common COVID strain in the region and the nation, according to figures from the CDC. BA.5 represented 46.2 percent of cases in New Jersey's region from June 26 to Saturday, the agency says.

The CDC separates its most up-to-date variant-proportion data into regions. New Jersey's region also includes New York, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. See the CDC's regional data below:

In the United Kingdom, where BA.5 and BA.4 account for most new COVID cases, the most common COVID symptoms were runny nose, sore throat, headache, persistent cough and fatigue, according to NBC News.

Uptick In NJ's Hospitalizations, Transmission

New Jersey's COVID hospitalizations continue to steadily increase. The New Jersey Department of Health reported 928 hospital patients with confirmed or suspected COVID as of Thursday — up from the 710 tallied June 25.

Forty-seven people in the state died from COVID in the past week, according to the CDC.

New Jersey officials also reported a transmission rate of 1.04 as of Thursday — a week after the state's rate was 0.99. A transmission rate higher than 1 indicates that each existing infection causes a new infection — a sign that the virus is spreading more quickly.

True case totals are more difficult to calculate because of the prevalence of at-home tests that don't get recorded in COVID statistics. But New Jersey averaged 2,981 infections per day over the past week, according to federal data. That's nearly identical to last week's average of 2,948 new cases per day but up from the seven-day average of 2,688 new daily cases for the week ending June 18.

In terms of infections, New Jersey's springtime COVID wave peaked the week ending May 24, when the state averaged 5,073 new daily cases, according to federal data.

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.