Community COVID Transmission 'High' In Bergen County: CDC

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — The county now has a "high" rate of community COVID-19 transmission, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

But the county isn't alone, as all but one county in the state are now deemed as places with "high" transmission.

This is a change for neighboring Passaic County, which along with Sussex, Warren and Morris Counties were still places with "substantial transmission" in the CDC's prior report.

The CDC says fully vaccinated people should wear masks indoors in public if they live in an area with "substantial" or "high" transmission of the virus.

So this would mean even the vaccinated should wear masks in indoor public spaces everywhere in New Jersey. Gov. Phil Murphy already announced that all New Jersey schoolchildren will start off the school year wearing masks every day. Read more: NJ K-12 Students Must Wear Masks This Fall, Gov. Murphy Says

In Bergen County, new hospital admissions are up 26 percent, and cases are up 19 percent, with 1,041 being reported from Aug. 12 through Aug. 18.

The delta variant continues to be the primary COVID-19 strain in the state, accounting for 93.5 percent of the cases sequenced in the last four weeks, according New Jersey Department of Health data.

The news that Bergen County is now a region with "high" transmission comes as hospitals and local health departments begin third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for the immunocompromised.

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