COVID-19 Updates

Abbie Kraemer, Writer

As worldwide cases surpass 3 million in total, the United States is reaching the end of its second month of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of May 4th, there have been over 1 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the U.S., with 153,246 recovered patients and 68,465 deaths recorded.

Closer to home, New Jersey has the second most confirmed cases of the virus in the United States, with New York taking the national lead. There have been 123,717 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Jersey as of May 4th.  In Burlington County, 3,043 cases have been confirmed, with 65 of which being in Medford, and 8 in Medford Lakes, with one fatality in Medford. Three of the seven patients located in Medford Lakes who have tested positive for the virus has recovered and been cleared from quarantine. These numbers update daily.

As of April 3rd, the CDC recommends everyone to wear cloth masks over their mouths and noses while in public in order to prevent the spread of the virus. A major concern of the CDC is asymptomatic cases of coronavirus; or those who have the virus, but show no symptoms and have no way of knowing that they have it. These cases are especially worrying because those who are asymptomatic to the virus are able to spread the virus without knowing.

In a press briefing on April 6th, Governor Phil Murphy reported that the growth rate of new cases of the coronavirus has decreased since March 30, but the peak of total cases is still yet to come. Murphy stated that the peak was estimated to fall between April 19 and May 11, but social distancing and staying at home is still essential to prevent the worst-case scenario. Only essential workers should be leaving their homes regularly, and those who are not essential workers should only leave the house for essential reasons, such as grocery shopping.