Latest COVID-19 Case Numbers In Hopatcong, Sparta Through Jan. 21

HOPATCONG, NJ —COVID-19 cases in Sussex County could be ebbing slightly, based on some of the data from the county and the state.

The change appears to be reflective in the daily case count that the county of Sussex reports. On Jan. 21, new daily COVID-19 countywide case tally was 171. On Jan. 14, it was 218; and on Jan. 7, that number was 499.

Throughout the week leading up to Jan. 21, the numbers mainly remained within that range. On Jan. 19, it was 189; and on Jan. 20, it was 218. For Jan. 18 —after the long, holiday weekend, with a break in reporting —it was 880. The county noted the daily average from Jan. 14 to Jan. 18 was 220 new cases per day.

The COVID-19 death toll in Sussex county has fluctuated. On Jan. 13 and 14, there were no new deaths on either day. During the holiday weekend, there were 10 new deaths reported, over the four-day period. On Jan. 19, there were six new deaths, with four new on Jan. 20. There were five new deaths on Jan. 21.

On Jan. 22, New Jersey’s Department of Health logged the COVID total death toll in Sussex County since the pandemic began in March 2020 at 337. On Jan. 14, it was 313; and on Jan. 7, the tally was 299. The difference from Jan. 7 and 14 was 14 deaths; and between Jan. 14 and 22, it was 24.

See the breakdown below since the pandemic started in March 2020, for total COVID-19 cases and deaths in the county, with numbers from the county and state.

See more details below for Hopatcong and Sparta. Vernon's numbers are also included, with it holding the highest COVID-19 case count in all of Sussex county:

On the case level per town, Hopatcong shows a decline in each of these weeks. From Jan. 7 through 14, there were 205 new cases; and for Jan. 14 through 21, it was 169.

The same with Sparta, with a downtrend each of the two weeks, with 385 new cases in the first week, and 176 in the second.

Vernon had 385 new cases in the first week, and 176 in the week-ending Jan. 21.

The County's Long-Term Care Facilities Outbreak Breakdown

There are several long-term care facilities throughout Sussex county that have experienced COVID-19 outbreaks. The former Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation II —the facility that made international headlines after 17 bodies were found in a makeshift morgue in April 2020 — experienced another outbreak in early January. The National Guard was sent in to help the facility with sanitizing and other tasks, with the facilities inspected and licensed by the state of New Jersey. See the chart below outlining new and cumulative COVID-19 case and death details for each nursing home outbreak the county is tracking:

Northwest Region Case Rate

The possible drop in case counts throughout Sussex county is also reflective in the COVID-19 Activity Level Report (CALI) for the northwest region, which includes totals from Morris, Passaic, Sussex, and Warren counties. Though the region is still "red" or "high," on the Jan. 8 report, the regional case rate was 255.97 per 100,000. For the week of Jan. 15, it was 121.49.

See figures below between the two Northwest region CALI reports:

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.

This article originally appeared on the Hopatcong-Sparta Patch