12 NJ Counties In Red Zone: White House Coronavirus Task Force

NEW JERSEY — Twelve of New Jersey's counties are now in the "red" zone for coronavirus outbreak severity, according to the latest report by the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

The report, released Jan. 24, classifies 12 of the state's 21 counties as being in the red zone. There are six counties in the "orange" zone and three in the "yellow" zone (see list of red, orange and yellow counties below).

Six New Jersey counties were downgraded out of the red zone since the last time the White House Coronavirus Task Force report for New Jersey became public, which was Dec. 13th. Those were: Essex, Burlington, Camden, Mercer, Morris and Union counties.

The report comes as the first death involving a new COVID variant case was reported in New Jersey. Read more: First Death Involving New Coronavirus Variant Case In NJ

New Jersey also says it's working out the kinks in its vaccination distribution system as concerns are rising about its efficiency. Read more: 5 Things To Know Amid Concerns About 2nd COVID Vaccine Dose In NJ

Counties that are in red zones have more than 100 new cases per 100,000 residents and a diagnostic test positivity result of above 10 percent. Counties in the orange zone reported between 51 and 100 new cases per 100,000 residents and a diagnostic test positivity result between 8 and 10 percent.

Yellow zone designated counties have reported between 10 and 50 new cases per 100,000 residents and a diagnostic test positivity result between 5 and 7.9 percent.

According to the Jan. 24th report, the following New Jersey counties are classified in the red zone:

• Middlesex
• Bergen
• Monmouth
• Ocean
• Hudson
• Passaic
• Atlantic
• Gloucester
• Cumberland
• Sussex
• Warren
• Salem

The following New Jersey counties are classified in the orange zone:

• Essex
• Union
• Camden
• Burlington
• Morris
• Mercer

The following New Jersey counties are classified in the yellow zone:

• Somerset
• Hunterdon
• Cape May

The latest report shows a 26 percent increase in new cases statewide from the week before, as well as a decrease in the test positivity rate of 0.9 percent. The state's test positivity rate stands at 10.3 as of Jan. 24, the report says.

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations in New Jersey are also down. The report notes there were 4,193 new hospitalizations for the seven-day period ending Jan. 22. That's a 5 percent decline from the previous seven-day period ending on Jan. 15.

Under the Trump administration, these reports were not made public by the task force. Instead, they were obtained by The Center for Public Integrity.

After months of being hidden from public view, weekly reports sent to New Jersey by the White House coronavirus response team have a new, publicly accessible home.

Cyrus Shahpar, COVID-19 data director for the Biden administration, announced the move in a tweet Wednesday afternoon.

“First post: We are now sharing previously hidden weekly COVID-19 state profile reports with the public,” Shahpar tweeted.

The release of the weekly state reports is the latest move by the Biden administration, officials said, to bring more transparency back to the White House.

Within hours of Joe Biden’s inauguration, press secretary Jen Psaki held her first press briefing at the White House. During it, Psaki — who served as the chief spokeswoman at the State Department under President Barack Obama — told reporters she had a “deep respect for the role of a free and independent press in our democracy.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, also said Americans should expect a “transparent, open and honest” response to the coronavirus under Biden.

The latest New Jersey report does not include a summary or recommendations that are typically provided by the task fource.

The Dec. 13th report, provided by The Center for Public Integrity before vaccines were approved for public use, offered this summary:

• New Jersey has seen an increase in new cases and stability in test positivity.
• 100 percent of all counties in New Jersey have moderate or high levels of community transmission (yellow, orange, or red zones).
• During the week of Nov 30 through Dec 6th, 28 percent of nursing homes had at least one new resident COVlD-19 case; 53 percent had at least one new staff

The report also offered these recommendations for the state:

• Early diagnosis and treatment are essential for those at risk for adverse outcomes.
• Please utilize all antigen tests to find community asymptomatic spread.
• The silent community spread that precedes and continues to drive these surges can only be identified and interrupted through proactive focused testing for both the identification of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic individuals.
• Proactive weekly testing of groups representative of the community (teachers, community college students, county workers, staff in crowded or congregate settings, hospital personnel, large private sector employers) will help identify the depth and breadth of community infection.

With reporting by Kara Seymour