What's Going Around NJ? Flu, COVID Cases On The Rise

NEW JERSEY — The omicron variant of COVID-19 is rightfully at the front of many people's minds when it comes to their health, especially as cases begin popping up around holiday travel schedules.

However, another illness is likely to cause some headaches, both literally and figuratively, for state residents over the next couple of weeks, and maybe months.

Flu cases are beginning to climb in New Jersey, following a years-long trend of growing case numbers once cold weather starts.

The New Jersey Department of Health's Influenza and Respiratory Illness Surveillance Report for the week ending Dec. 11 states that flu activity level is moderate. This falls in line with seasonal trends since 2017-2018, excluding 2020, when people were mainly working remotely and staying in amid the peak of the pandemic.

Much like with the COVID-19 reports, the department of health breaks down activity level by region as well. Four of the six regions in the state are also listed as moderate in terms of flu activity, but two are labeled as high. Those regions are the Northeast, made up of Bergen, Essex and Hudson Counties, as well as the Central East region, constituted of Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Union Counties.

Emergency department visits and outpatient provider visits "associated with influenza-like illness" are up from last week, and also from last year, but again, 2020-2021 served as an anomaly for obvious reasons.

In total, there have been 2,965 cases reported so far this flu season, the department of health reports. Additionally, there have been four outbreaks reported from the state's long-term care facilities.

There haven't been any influenza-associated confirmed pediatric deaths reported so far this flu season, though there has been one severe case.

Since 2017-2018, there have only been 13 fatal influenza cases in the state, with the year-long high standing at six in 2018-2019. There were no fatal cases in the 2020-2021 season.

Of course, this all comes as the statewide COVID-19 activity level has risen to "high" for the first time since the spring, and the "high" mark is also the case for all 21 New Jersey counties.

A county's elevation to high-risk status triggers stricter protocols for schools, including an increase of quarantine times.

The high-risk label puts quarantine times at 14 days for those who test positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, and for unvaccinated individuals identified as close contacts.

Fully vaccinated close contacts who show no COVID-like symptoms do not need to quarantine. But the CDC recommends they get tested three to five days after exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.

Omicron is also having a deeper impact in New Jersey than in most parts of the country, at least currently.

New York and New Jersey are the two states in the nation with the highest spread of the omicron coronavirus variant, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as officials now estimate the highly contagious variant represents 13 percent of COVID-19 cases in New York and New Jersey.

The delta variant remains much more prevalent across the county, but cases involving the omicron variant have been trending upward nationwide in recent weeks, officials said. In fact, while the omicron variant only makes up about 3 percent of cases in the rest of the United States, Dr. Anthony Fauci has stated that the statistic may change soon.

"It is going to be dominant in the United States, given its doubling time," he said.

Travelers this holiday season will have a lot to consider when heading to the airport, or spending a night on the town, and the sniffles or a stomach ache are just one part of it.

Read more: Omicron Makes Up 13% Of NJ And NY COVID-19 Cases: CDC

With reporting from Jeff Arnold, Josh Bakan and Nicole Rosenthal.