New Data Shows Hopatcong, Sparta Has Moderate COVID Case Count

NORTH JERSEY, NJ – A new Rutgers-Camden report shows how each New Jersey town was impacted by the coronavirus in 2020, revealing a number of communities that were not in the crisis's epicenter in March – or even in June, before the summer reopenings ramped up – but still were severely impacted as the virus spread to more rural, suburban and beach communities.

Patch put together lists showing all the towns and Rutgers' reported number of coronavirus cases and infection rates (per 100,000 people) in 2020.

The 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. Rather than focus on county-level COVID case data, the Rutgers University–Camden research institute explores how municipalities truly fared during the first year of the pandemic.

In looking at Hopatcong and Sparta in terms of highest to lowest cases, Sparta came in 169 on the town list with 528 cases noted. That translates into a 2,802.40nfection rate per 100,000 people. Hopatcong came in at 189 on the list, with 455 cases noted and a 3,168.08 infection rate per 100,000 people.

The new research report from Rutgers University–Camden offers a visualization of variations in COVID-19 rates across New Jersey municipalities and illustrates the reality that nearby municipalities can have COVID infection rates that are very different from each and from average rates within their counties.

"This data offers insight for those planning equitable aid allocations across the state and within counties," said Sarah Allred, a professor of psychology and faculty director of the Rand Institute, both at Rutgers University–Camden.

Rutgers-Camden acknowledged that getting the town-by-town information was be difficult. Indeed, Rutgers-Camden investigated every county to get the information, and if the county didn't have data, the institution researched every town and obtained the numbers.

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