Summit And State Of NJ Looking At Transmission In Sports, School

SUMMIT, NJ — The city of Summit said in a weekly coronavirus update on Friday afternoon that both locally and statewide, officials are concerned about virus transmission during recent sports matches, and that "Unusual transmission patterns have also been reported in Summit schools."

A city spokesperson said in the weekly update,"Samples are being tested for variant strains, when possible, to better determine how the virus is spread during team sports." The spokesperson did not elaborate about the comment on the schools.

However, a Friday update from the nearby town of Westfield shed some light: "Yesterday, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) announced that 25 percent of the total cases associated with high school sports since the beginning of the school year were reported last week, a trend that health officials are watching closely."

Regarding variants, the state of New Jersey reported Wednesday that there were 209 cumulative cases of "CDC variants of concern" in the state, including 206 of the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant, one B.1.351 (South African) variant case, and two P.1 (Brazilian) variant cases.

The city of Summit said in its Friday update, "A significant number of transmissions statewide and locally were reported as sports-related and during game play, specifically."

Statistics this week in Summit

The Westfield Regional Health Department, which oversees cases in Summit, Westfield, and six other local towns, reported 47 positive new COVID-19 cases in Summit from March 12 to March 18, according to the weekly update. There have been 1,516 total cases and 23 covid-related fatalities in Summit since March 2020. Numbers are adjusted weekly following contact tracing interviews.

As of Thursday in New Jersey, approximately 25 percent of New Jerseyans have had a dose of the covid vaccine, and 12 percent are fully vaccinated, the update said. In Union County, 20.6 percent of the population has received one dose of the vaccine, and 10 percent are fully vaccinated.

The weekly age breakdown of new Summit cases follows:

• 11 cases ages 18 and younger
• 7 cases ages 19 to 29;
• 6 cases ages 30 to 39;
• 7 cases ages 40 to 49;
• 11 cases ages 50 to 59;
• 2 cases 60 to 69;
• 1 case 75 to 79; and
• 2 cases ages 85 to 89.

The contract tracing results follow:

• 14 cases with no known exposure;
• 10 cases with a positive household contact;
• Six cases unable to contact;
• Five cases remain under investigation;
• Five cases refused interview;
• Two cases with a known exposure;
• Two cases associated with team sports;
• Two cases diagnosed in prior month and reported this month;
• One case associated with travel.

"According to health officials, infection activity remains at a moderate level in Summit, while cities and counties throughout the State of NJ are experiencing a higher-level rate of infection," the city said. "For the third consecutive week, NJ was highest in the nation in per capita confirmed COVID-19 cases with a daily average of 3,839 confirmed cases (up from 3,417 last week) and an average of 37 deaths each day (down from 46 last week). Statewide and locally, there has been an increase in reported cases with a decrease in hospitalizations."

How to get a test or vaccine

• For information on Union County services during the COVID-19 outbreak, including the Drive-Through Test Center at Kean University, the Mobile Test Unit walk-up sites, vaccination information, emergency food distribution and other support services, visit ucnj.org/covid19.
• See Patch's list of where to get the coronavirus vaccines and vaccine help in Union County.
• Seniors in Union County can call this number if they have no computer access: 908-613-7829, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 to 1 on Saturday.

NJ numbers and trends this week

The state of New Jersey reported Wednesday that 1,895 people are still hospitalized with the virus, 407 of those in critical care, and 57 percent of those on ventilators. 38 more fatalities were reported since the day before, bringing the state's confirmed deaths to 21,530.

While the daily fatality rate is starting to drop again, it's not at the level it was six months ago, before the second wave in New Jersey when there were a total of only two coronavirus fatalities reported statewide from Sept. 7 to Sept. 8.

On April 30, 2020, the one-day death toll in New Jersey reached an all-time high of 460 residents in 24 hours.

As of Thursday, across the country, approximately 538,000 Americans had died of the virus. (You can see which states had the highest death toll in the past week on this CDC map.)

Click here to see when you'll be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine in New Jersey (and a new group becomes eligible March 26).

School information

The Summit schools will begin Spring Break with a half day this coming Friday.

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