NJ Moves Essex County To 'Low' COVID Activity Level

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — New Jersey Department of Health officials moved Essex County into “low” status on their latest COVID-19 Activity Level Report. There are four levels on the weekly report: low, moderate, high and very high.

The northeast region – which includes Essex, Bergen and Hudson counties – is the only area of the state that has been moved to “low” activity level as of the week ending Feb. 19, the most recent available. All other counties were still in “moderate” status, according to the report.

The northeast region, including Essex County, was in “moderate” status for the week ending Feb. 12.

Essex County was also in “Low” COVID-19 community level status with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as of Feb. 25. Levels can be low, medium or high, and are determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area.

Many officials and health experts continue to warn residents to stay wary and get vaccinations or booster shots. Use the NJ Vaccine Appointment Finder to find available vaccination appointments or sites with walk-in vaccinations (no appointment needed).

"We are not going to manage COVID to zero," Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted on Feb. 7. "We have to learn how to live with COVID as we move from a pandemic to an endemic phase of this virus ... We are optimistic that given the decreased severity of this new variant, and the continued increase in vaccinations, that we are finally nearing this inflection point."

Essex County officials began releasing daily COVID-19 statistics in March 2020, including cumulative (total) cases and deaths. That effort continues for all towns and cities in 2022.

The county's statistics do not differentiate between vaccinated and unvaccinated cases.

County officials have noted that their numbers may not match municipal or state totals, and that cases are sometimes reassigned to a different location after an investigation. Officials have also noted that ongoing data cleaning has taken place in their reporting system to "remove duplicate cases or errors," which may periodically lower a town's case totals.

See case and death totals as of March 1 below, with recent U.S. Census' population estimates for each municipality. Patch is also including the county's totals from February for comparison.

Belleville (population: 38,222)

• March 1 - 10,417 cases, 145 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 10,325 cases, 144 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 10,239 cases, 143 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 10,130 cases, 141 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 10,080 cases, 139 deaths

Bloomfield (population: 53,105)

• March 1 - 11,487 cases, 155 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 11,416 cases, 155 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 11,343 cases, 152 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 11,277 cases, 150 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 11,207 cases, 148 deaths

Caldwell – (population: 9,027)

• March 1 - 1,452 cases, 17 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 1,450 cases, 17 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 1,443 cases, 17 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 1,435 cases, 17 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 1,432 cases, 17 deaths

Cedar Grove (population: 12,980)

• March 1 - 3,566 cases, 132 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 3,560 cases, 131 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 3,547 cases, 131 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 3,533 cases, 130 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 3,501 cases, 129 deaths

East Orange (population: 69,612)

• March 1 - 16,771 cases, 370 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 16,746 cases, 370 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 16,693 cases, 366 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 16,635 cases, 363 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 16,594 cases, 359 deaths

Essex Fells (population: 2,086)

• March 1 - 450 cases, 2 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 448 cases, 2 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 446 cases, 2 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 444 cases, 2 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 439 cases, 2 deaths

Fairfield (population: 7,872)

• March 1 - 1,850 cases, 35 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 1,842 cases, 35 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 1,826 cases, 35 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 1,804 cases, 35 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 1,789 cases, 35 deaths

Glen Ridge (population: 7,802)

• March 1 - 1,084 cases, 18 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 1,078 cases, 18 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 1,071 cases, 18 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 1,063 cases, 18 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 1,055 cases, 18 deaths

Irvington (population: 61,176)

• March 1 - 11,542 cases, 279 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 11,522 cases, 277 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 11,483 cases, 274 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 11,435 cases, 272 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 11,407 cases, 266 deaths

Livingston (population: 31,330)

• March 1 - 5,648 cases, 100 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 5,618 cases, 100 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 5,581 cases, 100 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 5,524 cases, 99 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 5,473 cases, 98 deaths

Maplewood (population: 25,684)

• March 1 - 4,422 cases, 46 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 4,409 cases, 46 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 4,391 cases, 46 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 4,391 cases, 44 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 4,360 cases, 43 deaths

Millburn (population: 21,710)

• March 1 - 2,939 cases, 17 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 2,908 cases, 17 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 2,857 cases, 17 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 2,827 cases, 16 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 2,773 cases, 14 deaths

Montclair (population: 40,921)

• March 1 - 5,984 cases, 84 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 5,960 cases, 84 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 5,933 cases, 84 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 5,904 cases, 83 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 5,849 cases, 82 deaths

Newark (population: 311,549)

• March 1 - 77,023 cases, 1,222 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 76,869 cases, 1,205 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 76,664 cases, 1,200 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 76,471 cases, 1,189 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 76,193 cases, 1,171 deaths

North Caldwell (population: 6,694)

• March 1 - 1,158 cases, 10 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 1,158 cases, 10 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 1,147 cases, 9 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 1,136 cases, 8 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 1,122 cases, 8 deaths

Nutley (population: 30,143)

• March 1 - 6,162 cases, 80 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 6,133 cases, 80 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 6,091 cases, 80 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 6,061 cases, 79 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 6,024 cases, 76 deaths

Orange (population: 34,447)

• March 1 - 7,952 cases, 164 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 7,931 cases, 164 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 7,896 cases, 163 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 7,874 cases, 162 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 7,831 cases, 159 deaths

Roseland (population: 6,299)

• March 1 - 1,267 cases, 21 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 1,260 cases, 21 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 1,255 cases, 21 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 1,247 cases, 21 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 1,237 cases, 21 deaths

South Orange (population: 18,484)

• March 1 - 2,901 cases, 21 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 2,887 cases, 21 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 2,875 cases, 21 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 2,855 cases, 21 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 2,846 cases, 21 deaths

Verona (population: 14,572)

• March 1 - 2,975 cases, 22 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 2,961 cases, 22 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 2,945 cases, 22 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 2,925 cases, 22 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 2,879 cases, 22 deaths

West Caldwell (population: 11,012)

• March 1 - 2,429 cases, 60 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 2,426 cases, 60 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 2,423 cases, 60 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 2,402 cases, 60 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 2,379 cases, 60 deaths

West Orange (population: 48,843)

• March 1 - 12,208 cases, 262 deaths
• Feb. 22 - 12,168 cases, 262 deaths
• Feb. 15 - 12,132 cases, 261 deaths
• Feb. 8 - 12,082 cases, 260 deaths
• Feb. 1 - 12,020 cases, 257 deaths

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