Verona has recorded its 302nd positive case of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to data released by Essex County this morning. That is an increase of nearly 44% from November 1, when Verona had 210 positive cases. Verona also had one more death from COVID-19 in November, raising our total to 15 from 14.
Almost every Essex County town had a substantial percentage increase in COVID positives in November. There was an increase of nearly 69% in Glen Ridge and a 67% increase in South Orange. The slowest rate of increase was in West Caldwell (21.7%) and Cedar Grove (23.5%). The average for Essex County was 42.5%.
Newark had the greatest increase in COVID deaths in November, with 38 new fatalities reported, for a total of 711 since the pandemic began. (The town with the second largest number of total deaths is East Orange, at 239.) There were also substantial November increases in Bloomfield, with 10 additional deaths, and in Belleville and West Orange, with eight apiece.
The data that Essex County releases daily cover only confirmed COVID cases and deaths. MyVeronaNJ.com has repeatedly requested data on total tests administered but the county has not responded to either our phone calls, text messages or emails. Essex County’s data also does not include a rate of transmission (Rt); the Rt for the entire state now stands at 1.1.
The data make it clear that COVID-19 is having a substantial health impact on Essex County. There have been 35,753 positive COVID cases county-wide since the county began keeping records this year. That compares with 5,505 hospitalizations for drug overdoses in 2017, the most recent year for which those statistics are available, and 7,900 cases of chronic hepatitis-C that year, two leading health issues here. There have been 2,006 COVID deaths in Essex County.
And even with just 15 deaths in Verona, COVID is becoming a leading cause of mortality here. Verona had an average of 31 deaths per year from heart disease from 2015 to 2019, and 31 from cancer per year during those same years, according to the New Jersey State Health Assessment Data. The next highest number of deaths was from strokes, which was just under six per year from 2015 to 2019. Verona averaged just under three deaths from the flu and pneumonia in those years.
Photo by Tai’s Captures on Unsplash
