West Orange COVID Case, Death Update: Omicron, Vaccine Rates

WEST ORANGE, NJ — How many cases of the coronavirus have been reported so far in West Orange this year? And how many people have died from complications related to COVID-19?

According to recent state statistics, the threat level in Essex County has been receding in recent weeks. As part of its weekly COVID-19 Activity Level Report, the New Jersey Department of Health assigns counties four possible rankings: Low, Moderate, High, and Very High. For the week ending Feb. 12, Essex County ranked as “moderate” – the second straight week it has done so. The county was in “high” status for the week ending Jan. 29.

However, Essex County is still in "high" community transmission status as of Feb. 18, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's data tracker.

Here are some local coronavirus updates you should know about in West Orange.

OMICRON - The omicron variant is now the dominant variant in New Jersey, state data shows. According to the health department’s most recent report for the week ending Jan. 29, omicron B.1.1.529 cases made up 97.5 percent of the state’s total – up from 10.7 percent on Dec. 20.

VACCINES - In West Orange, 91 percent of residents (all ages) have gotten at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. In addition, 78 percent of all West Orange residents have received complete vaccination courses.

WEST ORANGE CASES/DEATHS

Essex County officials began releasing daily COVID-19 statistics in March 2020, including cumulative (total) cases and deaths. That effort continues for all towns and cities in 2022, including West Orange.

>> See West Orange's complete 2021 case and death totals here

The county’s statistics do not differentiate between vaccinated and unvaccinated cases.

County officials have noted that their numbers may not match municipal or state totals, and that cases are sometimes reassigned to a different location after an investigation. Officials have also noted that ongoing data cleaning has taken place in their reporting system to "remove duplicate cases or errors," which may periodically lower a town’s case totals.

West Orange has a population of 48,843 residents, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.

Here are the weekly numbers so far this year in West Orange:

• Dec. 31 - 8,093 cumulative cases, 240 cumulative deaths (since March 2020)
• Jan. 7 – 10,002 cases, 242 deaths
• Jan. 14 – 11,276 cases, 245 deaths
• Jan. 21 – 11,714 cases, 248 deaths
• Jan. 28 – 11,976 cases, 254 deaths
• Feb. 4 – 12,076 cases, 260 deaths
• Feb. 11 – 12,113 cases, 261 deaths
• Feb. 18 – 12,150 cases, 262 deaths

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