Morristown COVID Updates: Variant Testing, 2020 Infection Rate

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Here are the latest coronavirus updates around Morristown.

Cases and Vaccinations

The Morris County Division of Public Health identified 92 new cases in Morristown from March 26 to Monday. Officials have reported 2,074 Morristown cases since the pandemic began.

The Morris School District has 28 active cases as of April 2, according to the district's COVID-19 dashboard. The total includes 20 cases for students and staff of Grades 6-12.

The New Jersey Department of Health has reported the following totals in Morris County as of Wednesday afternoon:

• 39,296 total confirmed cases (since the pandemic began)
• 7,176 total probable cases
• 943 confirmed deaths
• 241 probable deaths

State officials have reported 348,274 vaccine doses administered in Morris County — an increase of about 44,000 since Morristown Patch's last update March 30.

New Jersey has tallied 4.89 million doses administered statewide, including 1.89 million people fully vaccinated. The state set a goal for 70 percent of adults — 4.7 million people — to get fully vaccinated by the end of June.

Recent Updates

• Morristown had the 50th highest infection rate among all New Jersey towns in 2020, with 6,153.76 infections per 100,000 people. See the full list.
• In a breakthrough that will give better insight into how and where COVID-19 variants are spreading within New Jersey, Atlantic Health System is among the first hospitals in the region to be able to rapidly screen for key viral variants, according to officials. MORE.
• The Mayo Performing Arts Center's summer drive-in concert series — begat last year from pandemic restrictions — makes a return this summer. MORE.
• In case you missed it, check out this story of a restaurant bill in the age of COVID. A photo from an anonymous Morristown business owner circulated on social media, showing a tip of "Zero" on an $86.37 bill. The customer wrote the following: "I'm sorry the server gets screwed on this. Don't kick paying customers out after 90 mins."

Here's what else you should know:

• New Jersey is among five states that are behind nearly half of the
  country's new COVID-19 infections over the most recent seven-day period, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. MORE.
• New Jersey's strategy to curb the spread of coronavirus last year was ranked among the least effective in the nation, according to a new analysis by UC Berkeley's Othering & Belonging Institute. MORE.
• The state will open COVID-19 vaccinations to everyone 16 and older starting April 19. Gov. Phil Murphy's announcement came as the state expanded its list to people 55 and up, in addition to several other groups. MORE.

Thanks for reading. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to josh.bakan@patch.com.

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading, or by visiting the Google Play store. You can also follow the Morristown Patch Facebook page.