‘High’ COVID Risk In Morris County, Masks Recommended Indoors

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — We're still not out of the woods. COVID-19 has not left the Morris County area, which may pose a greater virus risk than the rest of the state. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morris County is one of ten in New Jersey with "High" COVID-19 community levels, with the rest remaining at low or medium risk.

As a result, masks are now recommended for use in public places and on public transportation in nine New Jersey counties for the first time since federal COVID-19 risk guidelines were updated in February.

Within the last week, Morris County reported an increase of 963 confirmed positive tests. Earlier this month, New Jersey reported 5,309 confirmed positive tests, the most since the winter omicron wave in late January.

Read more: Morristown Medical Center Limits Visitors As COVID Cases Rise

As the omicron wave subsided, Gov. Phil Murphy lifted the remaining statewide mask mandates for schools and public transportation in March.

Murphy stated as recently as last month that he does not see a return to statewide mask rules or other restrictions.

The CDC's revised metrics, which were introduced in February, consider case rate by population over the previous seven days, as well as hospital admissions and hospital capacity.

In the previous week, the case rate in Morris County was 453.4 people per 100,000. However, only 48 people per 100,000 in Morris County were admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 in the previous week, accounting for only 2.6 percent of local hospital beds.

Ninety-five percent of Morris County residents 5 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine — tied for the highest rate in New Jersey.

According to the CDC, people in Morris County should mask in indoor, public spaces, stay up to date on vaccinations, get tested if they have symptoms and take additional precautions if they have a high risk for severe illness.

According to the CDC's metrics, the counties ranked as "high" risk include Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Gloucester, Monmouth, Ocean, Salem and Sussex.

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