Union County COVID Fatality Rate Declined This week

UNION COUNTY, NJ — Deaths from coronavirus in Union County are slowing, according to Friday's numbers from the state.

As of this Friday, 1,709 Union County residents were confirmed having passed away from the virus since the pandemic began. A week ago Friday, the number was 1,704. The numbers represent five new deaths confirmed in the past week. That's down from previous weeks' death tolls of 15, 17, and 17.

As of Friday, total hospitalizations from COVID in Union County since the start of the pandemic were 5,258. The week before, the number was 5,225. This represents 33 new hospitalizations since a week ago.

Statewide, there are still a fair number of people hospitalized with the virus. There are 1,382 people in New Jersey hospitalized with the virus, 196 on ventilators. There were 32 resident fatalities confirmed from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Studies have shown that the vaccine is at least 95 percent effective against the virus, and among those who still get it, it will reduce the chance of hospitalization and death.

The disease’s impact is reflected each week in the state Department of Health's most recent "COVID-19 Activity Level Report." The report influences whether schools go remote or change their schedules, as well as other factors.

Find out up-to-date information on the types of vaccines and a list of where to get vaccinated in Union County here.

Highs and lows

• New Jersey's peak daily death toll on April 30, 2020 was 460 fatalities reported in one day. The numbers then steadily dropped during the shutdowns in the summer, until September, when they began rising again.
• The state's daily death toll has not yet declined to the level of Sept. 8, when only 2 deaths were reported in one day.
• 577,000 Americans have died of the virus as of Friday, including 709 deaths since the day before, according to the CDC.
• You can see which states had the highest death toll in the past week on this CDC map, and see how each county is doing with this CDC link.

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Here are statewide coronavirus resources:

• NJ COVID-19 Information Hub: https://covid19.nj.gov/
• General COVID-19 questions: 2-1-1
• NJ COVID-19 hotline: (800) 222-1222

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