Health & Fitness
Cases Decline, But COVID Activity 'Very High' In Mercer Co.
Although the number of reported positive cases has dropped, coronavirus-related deaths have gone up since last week.
MERCER COUNTY, NJ — The omicron-variant surge has shown some signs of slowing down in Mercer County, with a decline in new infections for the second straight week. However, the number of coronavirus-related deaths has gone up since last week, according to the latest data from the New Jersey Department of Health.
As of Friday, Mercer County reported 467 new confirmed COVID-19 cases — a 46.6 percent decrease. Last week there was one COVID-19-related death, but this week, the County reported six lab-confirmed deaths.
The COVID-19 activity report, ending Jan. 15 places Mercer County at "very high" risk for COVID-19 transmission. At the "very high" risk level, more than 25 out of every 100,000 people were estimated to have the virus.
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Statewide, New Jersey is seeing a steady drop in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations following a surge earlier this month. But Gov. Phil Murphy has warned residents not to let their guards down.
"While it appears the Omicron tsunami is finally pulling back, we are in no position to say we are on dry ground," Murphy said during a news conference on Wednesday, announcing the new daily case count.
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"I resist the urge to use the word 'only' with this number — even though it is thankfully lower than what we've been seeing earlier this month — it is still up there with the highest daily totals we were seeing at any peaks of the prior surges," said Murphy.
The number of cases is a "dramatic undercount" since many residents testing at home and are not reporting those cases, Murphy said.
State officials continued to urge residents to be vaccinated, boostered and tested. Read More: Here's Where To Get A COVID Test & Vaccine In Mercer County
For more information on vaccine or testing locations visit covid19.nj.gov.
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