How Much Is COVID Spreading In Ocean County With Delta, Omicron

OCEAN COUNTY, NJ — Here's the weekly look at coronavirus cases in Ocean County, including town-by-town totals and a look at related data since the emergence of the delta and omicron variants this year.

These statistics from the Ocean County Health Department cover the days from Dec. 18-23, and again show a significant increase in the number of new positive cases over what had been seen for more than a month. There were an average of 391 new cases per day over the six days, up from the 339 new cases per day from Dec. 11-17. That is up significantly from the 140 cases per day seen in October and November.

The county health department's dashboard showed new hospitalizations in Ocean County remained relatively flat since Nov. 22, averaging about one new hospitalization per day, with 22 recorded from Nov. 22 to Dec. 13, according to the county health department's dashboard. The dashboard shows just two new hospitalizations from Dec. 14-19.

The county does not have a breakdown by day of how many COVID patients have been released from hospitals.

The omicron variant has overtaken the delta variant as the cause of new cases, with 73 percent of new cases in the last few weeks in New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area resulting from the variant, according to CDC numbers. The CDC variant proportions are based on representative CDC sequencing data gathered during a four-week period. Through the end of November, the delta variant had accounted for the overwhelming majority of cases. It was found in 98.66 percent of the 3,748 New Jersey coronavirus test samples sequenced over a four-week period ending on Nov. 27, according to the CDC.

Related: Omicron Cases Explode In NJ: See Latest CDC Data

Cases have been rising across New Jersey, and the entire state is listed as having "high" COVID-19 activity, according to New Jersey's latest weekly report, through Dec. 18. The determination is based on metrics such as case rate, positivity rate and prevalence of COVID-like illnesses including fever and cough and shortness of breath. The Central East Region, which includes Ocean County, has the second-highest case rate in the state that number rose to 63.82 cases per 100,000 through Dec. 18 from 42.26 through Dec. 11, and it's nearly double the 37.62 cases through Dec. 3. The rate of COVID-like illnesses increased to 13.02 percent, up from 10.94 percent last week and from 10.48 percent through Dec. 3. Percent positivity rose to 12.98 percent from 8.42 percent.

There were 16 new deaths from Dec. 18-23, bringing the county's cumulative total to 2,279, according to Ocean County Health Department statistics.

The Ocean County Health Department data includes the town-by-town case totals. It also includes a breakdown by age of how many cases have been diagnosed in each age group.

The age breakdown is as follows for new cases reported from Dec. 17-22: 0-18, 534; 19-44, 935; 45-64, 581; 65-74, 149; 75-84, 94; 85+, 32; total 2,325

The total new cases town by town for Ocean County for the six days ending Dec. 23 are as follows:

• Barnegat Light: 2 new cases, 46 total cases, 4.55 percent increase
• Barnegat Township: 130, 3,269 total cases, 4.14 percent increase
• Bay Head: 4 new cases, 108 total cases, 3.85 percent increase
• Beach Haven: 0 new cases, 102 total cases, 0 percent increase
• Beachwood: 50 new cases, 1,739 total cases, 2.96 percent increase
• Berkeley Township: 150 new cases, 6,212 total cases, 2.47 percent increase
• Brick Township: 370 new cases, 13,130 total cases, 2.90 percent increase
• Eagleswood Township: 1 new case, 227 total cases, 0.44 percent increase
• Harvey Cedars: 2 new cases, 26 total cases, 8.33 percent increase
• Island Heights: 4 new cases, 213 total cases, 1.91 percent increase
• Jackson Township: 257 new cases, 9,157 total cases, 2.89 percent increase
• Lacey Township: 94 new cases, 3,998 total cases, 2.41 percent increase
• Lakehurst: 7 new cases, 439 total cases, 1.62 percent increase
• Lakewood: 167 new cases, 18,084 total cases, 0.93 percent increase
• Lavallette: 9 new cases, 232 total cases, 4.04 percent increase
• Little Egg Harbor Township: 89 new cases, 2,766 total cases, 3.32 percent increase
• Long Beach Township: 0 new cases, 266 total cases, 0 percent increase
• Manchester: 139 new cases, 5,900 total cases, 2.41 percent increase
• Mantoloking: 1 new case, 40 total cases, 2.56 percent increase
• Ocean Gate: 2 new cases, 264 total cases, 0.76 percent increase
• Ocean Twp. (Waretown): 39 new cases, 1,033 total cases, 3.92 percent increase
• Pine Beach: 4 new cases, 276 total cases, 1.47 percent increase
• Plumsted Township: 39 new cases, 1,043 total cases, 3.88 percent increase
• Point Pleasant Beach: 20 new cases, 668 total cases, 3.09 percent increase
• Point Pleasant: 143 new cases, 3,480 total cases, 4.29 percent increase
• Seaside Heights: 17 new cases, 389 total cases, 4.05 percent increase
• Seaside Park: 6 new cases, 154 total cases, 0 percent increase
• Ship Bottom: 1 new case, 140 total cases, 0.72 percent increase
• South Toms River: 15 new cases, 585 total cases, 2.63 percent increase
• Stafford Township: 115 new cases, 3,623 total cases, 3.29 percent increase
• Surf City: 6 new cases, 105 total cases, 6.06 percent increase
• Toms River: 435 new cases, 15,408 total cases, 2.91 percent increase
• Tuckerton: 11 new cases, 405 total cases, 2.79 percent increase

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