How Much Is COVID Spreading In Ocean County With Omicron

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 related data since the emergence of the omicron variant in November.

After six weeks of rapid increases, both the number of cases and hospitalizations have continued to decrease.

These statistics, from the state and from the Ocean County Health Department, cover the days from Jan. 15-21, and show a continued decrease in the number of new positive cases. There were an average of 625 new cases per day over the seven days, fewer than half as many as last week when there 1,281 new cases per day. In November, the county was averaging 140 new infections per day.

Hospitalizations of people with COVID-19 have fallen over the last two weeks. Last week, the number of new admissions of patients listed as having COVID-19 was 3,458, according to the state Department of Health COVID-19 database. Over the last week, there were 4,953 people who were positive for COVID-19 discharged from hospitals across the state.

As of Friday, there were 4,826 people hospitalized who were positive for COVID-19 and 511 on ventilators. State officials two weeks ago said that about half of the people listed as COVID-19 hospitalizations tested positive when they arrived at the hospital for treatment of other illnesses.

Specifics on hospitalizations in Ocean County in recent days were not available.

The CDC estimates the omicron variant was responsible for 99 percent of infections nationally from Jan. 11-15. The CDC variant proportions are based on representative CDC sequencing data gathered during a four-week period. In the four weeks ending Dec. 25, there were 6,153 New Jersey coronavirus test samples sequenced, with an almost equal split between the delta (48 percent) and omicron (51 percent) variants, according to the CDC.

While infections are slowing down across New Jersey, the entire state remains listed as having "very high" COVID-19 activity, according to New Jersey's latest weekly report, through Jan. 15. 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.

However, those numbers dropped significantly last week as well. The Central East Region, which includes Ocean County, has the fourth-highest case rate in the state. That number decreased by almost half, to 117.99 cases per 100,000 through Jan. 15, from 222.84 through Jan. 8. The rate of COVID-like illnesses was 11.94 percent, down from 16.07 percent last week. Percent positivity declined to 24.75 percent from 35.02 percent a week earlier.

Home tests that are not submitted to a laboratory are not counted in the numbers, so it's unclear how much home testing is affecting the case counts.

There were 69 new deaths from Jan. 15-21, bringing the county's cumulative total to 2,454, according to Ocean County Health Department statistics.

The Ocean County Health Department data includes the 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 infections reported from Jan. 14-20: 0-18, 1,042; 19-44, 1,309; 45-64, 1,038; 65-74, 429; 75-84, 252; 85+, 125; total 4,195

The total new cases town-by-town for Ocean County for the seven days ending Jan. 21 are as follows:

  • Barnegat Light: 4 new cases, 60 total cases, 7.14 percent increase

  • Barnegat Township: 190, 4,349 total cases, 4.57 percent increase

  • Bay Head: 6 new cases, 145 total cases, 4.32 percent increase

  • Beach Haven: 1 new case, 122 total cases, 0.82 percent increase

  • Beachwood: 78 new cases, 2,321 total cases, 3,48 percent increase

  • Berkeley Township: 263 new cases, 8,137 total cases, 3.34 percent increase

  • Brick Township: 531 new cases, 16,810 total cases, 3.26 percent increase

  • Eagleswood Township: 7 new cases, 298 total cases, 2.41 percent increase

  • Harvey Cedars: 2 new cases, 31 total cases, 6.90 percent increase

  • Island Heights: 7 new cases, 254 total cases, 2.83 percent increase

  • Jackson Township: 403 new cases, 11,860 total cases, 3.52 percent increase

  • Lacey Township: 214 new cases, 5,321 total cases, 4.19 percent increase

  • Lakehurst: 18 new cases, 559 total cases, 3.33 percent increase

  • Lakewood: 762 new cases, 22,903 total cases, 3.44 percent increase

  • Lavallette: 11 new cases, 323 total cases, 3.53 percent increase

  • Little Egg Harbor Township: 152 new cases, 3,630 total cases, 4,37 percent increase

  • Long Beach Township: 11 new cases, 322 total cases, 3.54 percent increase

  • Manchester: 323 new cases, 7,767 total cases, 4.34 percent increase

  • Mantoloking: 0 new cases, 46 total cases, 0 percent increase

  • Ocean Gate: 9 new cases, 344 total cases, 2.69 percent increase

  • Ocean Twp. (Waretown): 69 new cases, 1,380 total cases, 5.26 percent increase

  • Pine Beach: 12 new cases, 406 total cases, 3.05 percent increase

  • Plumsted Township: 50 new cases, 1,403 total cases, 3.70 percent increase

  • Point Pleasant Beach: 20 new cases, 898 total cases, 2.28 percent increase

  • Point Pleasant: 113 new cases, 4,462 total cases, 2.60 percent increase

  • Seaside Heights: 20 new cases, 509 total cases, 4.09 percent increase

  • Seaside Park: 11 new cases, 196 total cases, 5.95 percent increase

  • Ship Bottom: 10 new cases, 182 total cases, 5.81 percent increase

  • South Toms River: 24 new cases, 800 total cases, 3.09 percent increase

  • Stafford Township: 171 new cases, 4,809 total cases, 3.69 percent increase

  • Surf City: 19 new cases, 230 total cases, 9.00 percent increase

  • Toms River: 597 new cases, 20,094 total cases, 3.06 percent increase

  • Tuckerton: 20 new cases, 525 total cases, 3.96 percent increase

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This article originally appeared on the Brick Patch