Bernards Township's 2020 COVID Case Rates Among Lowest In NJ

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — While no town in New Jersey has truly made out well during the coronavirus pandemic, Bernards Township was among the most successful municipalities in keeping its infection rates on the lower end. The township had the 105th lowest COVID-19 case rate among Garden State towns in 2020, according to new research.

A new report issued this week by the Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs at Rutgers University–Camden unmasks the broad, regional impact of COVID-19 upon New Jersey municipalities during two waves in 2020.

In 2020, officials reported an infection rate of 2,223.94 per 100,000 people in Bernards Township.

Rutgers-Camden's report also identified how towns fared during New Jersey's fall spike, compared to the initial spring 2020 outbreak. Bernards Township's fall peak was 210.82 percent greater than its spring peak, according to the report. While that may sound high, the figure was the 100th lowest out of 497 reporting New Jersey cities and towns.

The municipality-level data shows that towns within a county can have very different case rates than others within their county, according to the report.

"The large variation across municipalities on this indicator supports the importance of examining variation in other indicators measuring COVID-19 impact," the report says.

Somerset County's highest 2020 case rate came from Bound Brook, with 6,245.16 infections per 100,000 people. Millstone Borough had the county's lowest case rate and the fourth lowest in New Jersey at 600 per 100,000.

Rutgers-Camden's report, however, doesn't analyze deaths. Not all New Jersey counties publicly release death tolls by town.

Franklin Township has the highest coronavirus death toll among any Somerset County municipality, with 207 lives lost during the pandemic. Forty-seven people in Bernards Township have died from the virus.

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