Mercer County's COVID-19 Cases: See Updates

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — New data has been released that shows the coronavirus continues to have an impact on Mercer County.

The county reported 70 new cases on Friday.

State Health officials say the state is still "struggling" to manage the pandemic since the latest data shows New Jersey remains wedged inside a COVID-19 hot zone, and it's currently ranked first in the U.S. in coronavirus deaths per capita over the past week, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Unfortunately, the one thing we're struggling with is that our death rate from COVID has not decreased," Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said earlier this week. "This is not a position to be proud of."

The disease’s impact is reflected in the state Department of Health's most recent "COVID-19 Activity Level Report," which is issued weekly. The most recent report, released Thursday, says Mercer County is in the yellow zone.

If the county is in the "orange" zone, it means it has a rate of 10 to 25 cases per 100,000 people. “Yellow” means the county has a rate of 1 to 10 cases per 100,000 people.

If the overall activity is at an "orange" level, state officials say, school districts in those counties would have to take more serious steps — such as quarantining or even shutting down schools — if a child shows the symptoms of COVID-19.

"When it is high risk, there are some recommendations that we make together with local school boards," said Edward Lifshitz, medical director for the state Department of Health.

(With reporting from Tom Davis, Patch Staff.)

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