How Much Is COVID Spreading In Ocean County With Delta Variant?

Karen Wall
Updated ·5 min read

OCEAN COUNTY, NJ — Here's the weekly look at coronavirus cases in Ocean County, including town-by-town totals and a look at related data since the emergence of the delta variant earlier this year.

These statistics from the Ocean County Health Department cover the days from Dec. 4-10, and again show a significant increase in the number of new positive cases over what had been seen for more than a month. There were an average of 292 new cases, up from the average of 221 new cases from Nov. 25-Dec. 3. The average cases per day had been hovering around 140 for more than a month.

The county health department's dashboard showed new hospitalizations in Ocean County remained relatively flat since Nov. 22, averaging just under 1 new one per day, with 13 recorded from Nov. 22 to Dec. 6, according to the county health department's dashboard. The county does not have a breakdown by day of how many COVID patients have been released from hospitals.

Daniel Regenye, the public health coordinator, has said that less than 15 percent of new COVID-19 cases in Ocean County in recent weeks are breakthrough infections in people who have been vaccinated.

However, people who have had breakthrough cases in Ocean County are faring much better, he said.

"The vast majority of those admitted to the hospital are unvaccinated," he said, and people who are in critical care units and intensive care units with COVID-19 "are almost entirely unvaccinated."

"Those that are vaccinated are experiencing much less severe symptoms," Regenye said.

The delta variant accounted for 99.3 percent of coronavirus cases in New Jersey over a four-week period ending on Nov. 13, CDC numbers show. That is a slight increase from the previous week, where 99.1 percent of samples were of the delta variant. The CDC variant proportions are based on representative CDC sequencing data gathered during that four-week period. There were 3,356 New Jersey samples that underwent sequencing during that time.

Cases have been rising across New Jersey, and the entire state is listed as having "high" COVID-19 activity, according to New Jersey's latest weekly report, through Dec. 4. The determination is based on metrics such as case rate, positivity rate and prevalence of COVID-like illnesses including fever and cough and shortness of breath. The Central East Region, which includes Ocean County, has the third-highest case rate in the state that number rose to 37.62 cases per 100,000 through Dec. 4 from 21.80 cases through Nov. 27. The rate COVID-like illnesses and percent positivity both increased as well, with the COVID-like illnesses at 10.48 percent, up from 7.86 percent, and positivity at 8.42 percent, up from 6.70 percent through Nov. 27.

There were 11 new deaths from Dec. 4-10, bringing the county's cumulative total to 2,244, according to Ocean County Health Department statistics.

The Ocean County Health Department data includes the seven-day town-by-town case totals. It also includes a breakdown by age of how many cases have been diagnosed in each age group.

The age breakdown is as follows for new cases reported as of Dec. 9: 0-18, 532; 19-44, 751; 45-64, 502; 65-74, 150; 75-84, 81; 85+, 33; total 2,049

The seven-day totals for Ocean County as of Dec. 10 are as follows:

  • Barnegat Light: 0 new cases, 43 total cases, 0 percent increase

  • Barnegat Township: 94, 3,014 total cases, 3.22 percent increase

  • Bay Head: 3 new cases, 105 total cases, 2.94 percent increase

  • Beach Haven: 1 new case, 100 total cases, 1.01 percent increase

  • Beachwood: 35 new cases, 1,651 total cases, 2.17 percent increase

  • Berkeley Township: 140 new cases, 5,889 total cases, 2.44 percent increase

  • Brick Township: 367 new cases, 12,339 total cases, 3.07 percent increase

  • Eagleswood Township: 9 new cases, 211 total cases, 4.46 percent increase

  • Harvey Cedars: 1 new case, 24 total cases, 4.35 percent increase

  • Island Heights: 12 new cases, 202 total cases, 6.32 percent increase

  • Jackson Township: 215 new cases, 8,667 total cases, 2.54 percent increase

  • Lacey Township: 97 new cases, 3,819 total cases, 2.61 percent increase

  • Lakehurst: 14 new cases, 425 total cases, 3.41 percent increase

  • Lakewood: 178 new cases, 17,662 total cases, 1.02 percent increase

  • Lavallette: 4 new cases, 219 total cases, 1.86 percent increase

  • Little Egg Harbor Township: 67 new cases, 2,590 total cases, 2.66 percent increase

  • Long Beach Township: 6 new cases, 264 total cases, 2.33 percent increase

  • Manchester: 123 new cases, 5,642 total cases, 2.23 percent increase

  • Mantoloking: 2 new cases, 34 total cases, 6.25 percent increase

  • Ocean Gate: 9 new cases, 253 total cases, 3.69 percent increase

  • Ocean Twp. (Waretown): 21 new cases, 959 total cases, 2.24 percent increase

  • Pine Beach: 4 new cases, 265 total cases, 1.53 percent increase

  • Plumsted Township: 31 new cases, 970 total cases, 3.30 percent increase

  • Point Pleasant Beach: 20 new cases, 628 total cases, 3.29 percent increase

  • Point Pleasant: 117 new cases, 3,222 total cases, 3.77 percent increase

  • Seaside Heights: 11 new cases, 365 total cases, 3.11 percent increase

  • Seaside Park: 2 new cases, 148 total cases, 1.37 percent increase

  • Ship Bottom: 3 new cases, 136 total cases, 2.26 percent increase

  • South Toms River: 12 new cases, 558 total cases, 2.20 percent increase

  • Stafford Township: 64 new cases, 3,405 total cases, 1.92 percent increase

  • Surf City: 3 new cases, 96 total cases, 3.23 percent increase

  • Toms River: 373 new cases, 14,544 total cases, 2.63 percent increase

  • Tuckerton: 9 new cases, 382 total cases, 2.41 percent increase

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This article originally appeared on the Brick Patch