Passaic County's COVID Cases: See Wayne Updates

WAYNE, NJ — New data has been released that shows the coronavirus continues to have an impact on Wayne and Passaic County.

Passaic County reported 55,748 cases on Friday, up from 54,318 last week. Locally, Wayne is on pace to beat the number of positive cases from February, a slight regression from last month. Read more: 10 Percent Of Wayne Residents Tested Positive For COVID: Mayor

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, which includes data from the week of March 13, says Passaic County is in the “orange” 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 1 to 10 cases per 100,000 people.

If the overall activity is at a "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.

Indeed, a number of school districts still provide remote instruction even as the number of new daily cases has dropped in recent weeks.

Elementary students in Wayne are poised to return to in-person learning come April, however, as districts across the state move to get more kids in the classroom. Read more: Wayne Board Of Education To Present New Reopening Plan Thursday

Wayne has seen a slight uptick in cases during the first two weeks of March, with Vergano reporting 309 new positive tests, about 23 per day. A 96-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man have died from COVID-19 in March, Vergano added, brining the total number of deaths to 208.

"We still have to wear masks, we still have to wash our hands, we still have to maintain social distance, and we just need to be careful," said Vergano.

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