Atlantic County Releases 1st Town Breakdown Of Coronavirus Cases

ATLANTIC COUNTY, NJ — Atlantic County officials publicly released a breakdown of novel-coronavirus cases by town for the first time Wednesday. Atlantic County officials defended their reasoning for why they hadn't previously done so.

“Atlantic County made a conscious decision early on not to provide this information to the media to help protect our full time, permanent residents from an influx of second homeowners and out-of-towners who could potentially carry the virus from areas of outbreak including New York, North Jersey and the Philadelphia suburbs,” said County Executive Dennis Levinson.

Officials noted that several towns that attract visitors have a low number of confirmed cases. But "advertising these enviable statistics" could encourage people to visit at a time when travel has been discouraged, Levinson said.

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He urged the public not to be lulled into a false sense of security if their town's numbers are low.

People with the coronavirus also might not show symptoms, according to the Center for Disease Control. With limited testing available nationwide, it is also difficult to gauge the true number of people with the virus.

Officials reported 23 total cases in Galloway, including three new cases Wednesday.

Here is the breakdown by town as of Wednesday afternoon:

17 new cases:

• Atlantic City: 2
• Buena Borough: 1
• Buena Vista Township: 1
• Egg Harbor Township: 3
• Galloway: 3
• Hamilton Twp.: 3
• Northfield: 1
• Pleasantville: 2
• Ventnor: 1

Previously reported cases:

• Absecon: 8
• Atlantic City: 25 and 1 death
• Brigantine: 2
• Buena Borough: 8
• Egg Harbor City: 4
• Egg Harbor Twp.: 29 and 3 deaths
• Galloway: 20
• Hamilton: 13
• Hammonton: 7
• Linwood: 7
• Longport: 2
• Margate: 1
• Northfield: 2
• Pleasantville: 13
• Somers Point: 5
• Ventnor: 9
• Weymouth: 1

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