Report Shows COVID Impact In Manasquan, Belmar In 2020

MANASQUAN — A new Rutgers-Camden report shows how each New Jersey town was impacted by the coronavirus in 2020, including how many cases towns saw, infection rates and how much of an increase each town saw by the fall and winter.

Manasquan and Belmar were deeply impacted by the pandemic, the report shows (see town data below).

The second wave of the pandemic took place from June 30 through Dec. 13, 2020. June is when the summer reopenings ramped up.

During that time, Manasquan infection rate was 2,758.62 per 100,000 people. It was 386th among the 561 municipalities that reported numbers statewide. Its increase was 471.43 percent, ranking it 195th in the state.

Belmar's infection rate was 3,010.45 per 100,000 people. It was 342nd among the 561 municipalities that reported numbers statewide. Its increase was 1,114.29 percent, ranking it 67th in the state.

Upper Pittsgrove Township in Salem County saw the highest increase at 6,750 percent, while Rockleigh Borough in Bergen County had the highest infection rate at 31,720.43.

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. Read more here: Report Shows Town-By-Town NJ COVID Impact, Infection Rates Ranked

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 and how they compared to their neighboring towns (see list below).

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 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.

Here is the data for the local towns:

Infect rate per 100,000 people

• (#145) Point Pleasant Boro: 4,340.55
• (#163) Asbury Park: 4,185.27
• (#299) Point Pleasant Beach: 3,234.32
• (#342) Belmar: 3,010.45
• (#386) Manasquan: 2,758.62

Spring to fall/winter increase

• (#67) Belmar: 1,114.29 percent
• (#195) Manasquan: 471.43 percent
• (#207) Point Pleasant Boro: 446.94 percent
• (#215) Asbury Park: 429.03 percent
• (#250) Point Pleasant Beach: 374.19 percent