Madison's 2020 COVID Infection Rates Were Low Compared To State

MADISON, NJ — While no town in New Jersey has truly made out well during the coronavirus pandemic, Madison was among the most successful municipalities in keeping its infection rates on the lower end. The borough had the 101st 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 2,206.71 per 100,000 people in Madison. Read more: Report Shows Town-By-Town NJ COVID Impact, Infection Rates Ranked

Rutgers-Camden's report also identified how towns fared during New Jersey's fall spike, compared to the initial spring 2020 outbreak. Madison's fall peak was 247.06 percent higher than its spring peak, according to the report. While that might sound high, the figure was among the 150 lowest out of 497 reporting municipalities.

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.

Morris County's highest 2020 case rate came from Dover, with 8,694.93 per 100,000 people — the eighth highest rate in New Jersey. The total is more than five times greater than Chatham Borough's infection rate last year.

Rutgers-Camden's report, however, doesn't analyze deaths. Morris County and several other New Jersey counties don't publicly release COVID-19 death tolls by town. The New Jersey Department of Health has identified 943 confirmed deaths and 241 probable deaths from the virus.

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