Cape May County reported two new deaths and 12 more cases of coronavirus on Tuesday.
The two new deaths were a 73-year-old woman and a 93-year-old man. They were residents of the Victoria Manor nursing home in Lower Township. Altogether, eight residents at Victoria Manor have died of COVID-19, according to a county press release.
“This is an extremely unfortunate situation and certainly our sympathies are with the deceased, family, and friends. We will continue to work with the nursing home and work on preventing further cases and deaths,” Cape May County Health Officer Kevin Thomas said. “Nursing homes have been hot spots for this potentially fatal disease throughout the country.”
The state Health Department’s epidemiologist and Cape May County Health Department’s public health nurses have investigated and provided continued guidance documents and protective gear to all long-term care facilities throughout the county, the press release said.
As such, the outbreak at Victoria Manor has been the major focus of the department’s attention since the onset of reported cases. To date, there have been 26 residents and 24 staff members who have tested positive for COVID-19, including the eight deaths, according to the release.
Cape May County now has a total of 179 coronavirus cases and 10 deaths countywide.
Following is a breakdown of the confirmed COVID-19 cases for each municipality in Cape May County:
| MUNICIPALITY | ACTIVE CASES | REPORTED TODAY | OFF QUARANTINE | DEATHS |
| AVALON | 4 | 2 | ||
| CAPE MAY CITY | 1 | 2 | ||
| CAPE MAY POINT | 0 | |||
| DENNIS TOWNSHIP | 7 | 1 | 1 | |
| LOWER TOWNSHIP | 56 | 5 | 4 | 8 |
| MIDDLE TOWNSHIP | 35 | 2 | 3 | |
| NORTH WILDWOOD | 3 | 1 | ||
| OCEAN CITY | 12 | 1 | 2 | |
| SEA ISLE CITY | 1 | 1 | ||
| STONE HARBOR | 0 | |||
| UPPER TOWNSHIP | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| WEST CAPE MAY | 1 | |||
| WEST WILDWOOD | 1 | |||
| WILDWOOD | 10 | 2 | 1 | |
| WILDWOOD CREST | 8 | |||
| WOODBINE | 2 | |||
| TOTAL ACTIVE | 152 | |||
| TOTAL RECOVERED | 17 | |||
| TOTAL DECEASED | 10 | |||
| TOTAL CASES IN CAPE MAY COUNTY | 179 |
The spread of coronavirus in nursing homes throughout New Jersey has claimed many lives. According to the state Health Department, the number of nursing homes where residents have been diagnosed with COVID-19 has more than doubled in the last week.
More than three quarters of the long-term care facilities have reported COVID-19 cases. In New Jersey alone, approximately 4,100 positive cases in nursing homes have been detected and of those numbers 252 have died from the disease. Those deaths account for one in eight of the state’s total toll from the virus, according to the release.
“The adherence to guidelines and recommendations by all long-term care facility staff is the critical component in stopping the spread of COVID-19,” the release said.
Stay up to date on the current situation as it evolves. Some reliable sources are the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System hotline at 1-800-222-1222 or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov, the World Health Organization at www.who.int and the New Jersey Department of Health at www.nj.gov/health.
For additional information, visit the Cape May County Department of Health at www.cmchealth.net.
