How Much Is COVID Spreading In Edison-Metuchen Amid Omicron?
EDISON, NJ — The omicron-variant surge has shown some signs of slowing down, with a decline in new infections for the second straight week. But case totals still remain high in the township.
As of Friday, Edison reported 351 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours and one coronavirus-related death, according to the Middlesex County COVID-19 dashboard. In Metuchen, 45 positive cases were reported in the past 24 hours.
The COVID-19 activity report, ending Jan. 15 places Middlesex County at "very high" risk for COVID-19 transmission. At the "very high" risk level, more than 25 out of every 100,000 people were estimated to have the virus. The County reported 1,956 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours.
Statewide, New Jersey is seeing a steady drop in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations following a surge earlier this month. But Gov. Phil Murphy has warned residents not to let their guards down.
"While it appears the Omicron tsunami is finally pulling back, we are in no position to say we are on dry ground," Murphy said during a news conference on Wednesday, announcing the new daily case count.
"I resist the urge to use the word 'only' with this number — even though it is thankfully lower than what we've been seeing earlier this month — it is still up there with the highest daily totals we were seeing at any peaks of the prior surges," said Murphy.
The number of cases is a "dramatic undercount" since many residents testing at home and are not reporting those cases, Murphy said.
State officials continued to urge residents to be vaccinated, boostered and tested. For more information on vaccines or additional testing locations visit covid19.nj.gov.
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This article originally appeared on the Edison-Metuchen Patch
