COVID Spike Cancels Senior Activities In Glen Rock

GLEN ROCK, NJ — Senior activities in Glen Rock have been canceled at the Annex due to a rise in cases of COVID-19, officials announced. The pause will continue until mid-January.

"Given the recent rise in COVID-19 cases and out of an abundance of caution, the Borough of Glen Rock will be temporarily suspending Senior Activities at the Annex starting Wednesday, December 22nd until Tuesday, January 11th," borough officials said.

"The safety of our residents is our top priority and as we navigate through this tough time, we appreciate your understanding and cooperation."

This comes as COVID-19 cases have more than doubled from last week, and state officials announced that New Jersey residents could get free, at-home, saliva-based COVID-19 tests.

The state health department has reported at least 6,000 new cases per day since Thursday, peaking at 6,533 for Sunday.

The increase in cases comes as world health officials warn of the omicron variant's contagiousness. The variant has a doubling time of 1.5 to three days, spreading "significantly faster" than the delta variant, the World Health Organization said Saturday.

The delta variant represented 97.9 percent of New Jersey's sequenced cases, according to the state's most recent surveillance report, from the week ending Dec. 4. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that the omicron variant represents 13 percent of New Jersey cases, which tied for the highest in the nation with New York. Read more: NJ COVID Cases More Than Double From Last Week

With reporting from Josh Bakan.