Camden County Issues New COVID Warning 1 Day After Record Numbers

CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ — Camden County officials are urging residents to re-evaluate their thinking about the coronavirus one day after the county recorded the most new cases it has seen in one day since the start of the pandemic.

There were 242 new cases reported throughout the county on Thursday. Another 144 were reported on Friday. No new deaths were reported on either day. Trace investigations are underway in all new cases. Read more here: Camden County Sees 200 New Coronavirus Cases In 1 Day For 1st Time

Countywide, there have been 13,478 cases of the coronavirus and 581 confirmed deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. It has seen 1,572 cases among residents and 676 cases among staff at the county's 56 long-term care facilities. At this time, 343 residents and three staff members have died in relation to these facilities.

“There is only one way to interpret the current trends we are observing with regards to the number of new COVID-19 cases in Camden County, and across the state: we are at the beginning of a very difficult period in this pandemic,” Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said. “This is a critical inflection point in this battle, it is increasingly clear that we cannot continue with business as usual if we have any hope of minimizing the damage that this virus will do in the coming months.”

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“I know this pandemic has not been easy on any of us,” Cappelli said. “More than 580 families in our community have been torn apart by this disease. More than 13,000 of our friends, family, and neighbors have been infected and face uncertain long-term effects that we are only just beginning to understand. Countless others have been challenged by struggling businesses, lost wages, and the toll to mental wellbeing that accompanies times of increased stress and anxiety. We’d hoped to be nearly past this pandemic by November, instead we are charging back into the lion’s den.

“Today, I am calling on every Camden County resident to reassess their role in preventing the spread of this disease. We have to return to the war-like mindset we embodied in the spring. We should be staying home as much as possible, avoiding gatherings with others, and taking every other possible precaution to avoid contracting and spreading this virus. There is no scenario where we get through this crisis safely without taking these steps.”

On Friday, Gov. Phil Murphy said broader actions would be taken to the stop the spread, but didn’t specify what those actions would be. Read more here: Gov. Murphy: ‘Broader Actions’ Coming To Stop NJ COVID-19 Spread

Cappelli said the county will make announcements in the coming days and weeks about its response, including new locations for testing, and continued programs intended to support families and residents. In the meantime, he reminded residents to take the following actions:

1. Do not hold or attend indoor gatherings. The virus spreads much faster indoors than outdoors.
2. Do not leave home if you are feeling sick. This includes when you believe your symptoms to be related to allergies, a cold, or other non-coronavirus conditions. The symptoms of this disease are myriad and varied.
3. Always wear a mask when you are indoors or within six feet of others.
4. Always try to maintain at least six feet in separation from others, even when you are wearing a mask.
5. Always work with the county’s contact tracing team when they call.

“We will get through this second wave just as we did the first one, but if we want to keep our economy open, keep our hospitals operating under peak capacity, and keep our death toll from climbing, then we have to take individual responsibility for our actions in the coming weeks and months,” Cappelli said. “In the meantime, please stay safe, stay healthy, and let’s beat this together.”