Morristown Had NJ's 50th Highest COVID Case Rate In 2020

MORRISTOWN, NJ — While no New Jersey town truly made out well during the coronavirus pandemic, a new report suggests Morristown has been one of the hardest-hit. Morristown had the 50th highest case rate among New Jersey towns last year, according to a new report from Rutgers-Camden.

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.

The report shows neighboring towns with significantly different case rates. Morris Township, for instance, had an infection rate of 2,851.76 per 100,000 people last year. Morristown reported a case rate more than twice as large at 6,153.76 per 100,000.

Rutgers-Camden's report also identified how towns fared during New Jersey's fall spike, compared to the initial spring 2020 outbreak. Read more: Report Shows Town-By-Town NJ COVID Impact, Infection Rates Ranked

Morristown's fall peak was 196.15 percent greater than its spring peak. While that may sound high, the figure ranks among the 100 lowest among New Jersey towns — out of 497 in this particular category. Only 32 municipalities showed figures lower than 150 percent.

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 2020 infection rate of 1,689.

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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