Wayne's COVID Case Total More Than Doubled In May

WAYNE, NJ — Wayne had more than twice as many new COVID cases in May than the township reported in the prior month, according to Mayor Christopher P. Vergano.

The township reported 606 cases in May, when New Jersey endured a wave of increased coronavirus transmission. Wayne tallied 262 cases in April after seeing only 79 in March.

Wayne's worst month of the year came during the peak of the omicron surge, which brought 1,435 new cases to the township in January. The township reported 119 cases in February.

New Jersey's springtime COVID wave has shown signs of retreating. The state averaged 3,604 infections per day in the past week — down from the average of 5,073 new cases per day for the week ending May 24, according to federal data.

The state also had a transmission rate of 0.86 on Monday, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. A transmission rate lower than 1 indicates that the virus's spread is slowing down.