Mercer County's COVID Cases Remain 'Very High:' See Town Updates

Princeton NJ

19 December, 2020

8:09 PM

Description

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — The coronavirus continues to take a grim toll on Mercer County, impacting local businesses and schools in the region, according to updated state data (see town-by-town totals below). The state Department of Health's most recent "COVID-19 Activity Level Report," which is issued weekly, says Mercer County is still in the "red zone" for coronavirus cases. As of Friday, Mercer County reported 110 new cases, taking the cumulative total to 16,998. The previous week, the number of positive cases were 15,621. The "red zone" means the daily new COVID-19 virus case rate, per 100,000 people, rose to "very high" in all 21 counties. That means they exceed 25 cases per 1,000 people over a seven-day average. The latest reports say the overall coronavirus activity level also rose from "moderate," or "yellow," to "high," or "orange," in recent weeks in all 21 New Jersey counties. With the rise to a "high" level, state officials said, school districts in those counties may have to take more serious steps — such as quarantining or even shutting down schools — if a child shows the symptoms of COVID-19. "When it is high risk, there are some recommendations that we make together with local school boards," said Edward Lifshitz, medical director for the state Department of Health. Indeed, a number of school districts have shifted to remote instruction as the numbers have risen. The overall coronavirus risk rose to "high" in each of the counties because: The new daily case rate in each of the counties rose to 10 or more per 100,000 people. The percent of COVID-19-like illnesses rose above 5.52 in each of the counties. The percent of positive cases rose above 10.01. Mercer County officials provided the following breakdown of cases by town: East Windsor Daily cases: 18Total cases: 890 Ewing Township Daily cases: 12Total cases: 1, 186 Hamilton Township Daily cases: 36Total cases: 3,080 Hightstown Boro Daily cases: 1Total cases: 215 Hopewell Boro Daily cases: 0 Total cases: 14 Hopewell Township Daily cases: 2Total cases: 279 Lawrence Township Daily cases: 10Total cases: 762 Pennington Boro Daily cases: 0Total cases: 31 Princeton Daily cases: 1Total cases: 327 Robbinsville Township Daily cases: 3Total cases: 285 Trenton City Daily cases: 40Total cases: 4,410 West Windsor Township Daily cases: 7 Total cases: 329 Thank you for reading. Have a correction or news tip? Email [email protected] Get breaking news alerts on your phone with our app. Download here. Sign up to get Patch emails so you don't miss out on local and statewide news.