COVID-19 cases on the rise in Princeton
A dozen Princeton residents have tested positive for COVID-19 over a seven-day period, the highest weekly average the town has seen since March of this year. The bi-weekly average is trending towards 22 new cases. About 90 percent of the new cases in New Jersey are the Delta variant.
“Similar to what we’ve seen through the previous two surges of COVID-19 infections, Princeton has lagged a little bit in terms of the uptick of cases,” Princeton Health Officer Jeff Grosser said. “This has been especially true for the Delta variant. We’re just starting to see the same increase the rest of the state saw about three or four weeks ago. We’re starting to see that right now.”
Grosser said that in July, Princeton saw a 357% increase in the number of identified COVID-19 infections. “This is linked back to out of state, out of country travel, and social gatherings, with some of the infections linked to household clusters,” Grosser said. “Of the 12 cases this past week, eight were linked to one another through contact tracing and household situations.”
The COVID-19 vaccination rate in Princeton has plateaued at about 77% for residents 12 and older. About 95% of residents who are 65 and older have been vaccinated.
The next health department vaccination clinic will be held on Hinds Plaza from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 27. Princeton University clinics will start back up in September.
In Montgomery and Rocky Hill, eight new COVID-19 cases were reported between Friday and Tuesday. Half of the new cases are children under the age of 18.
Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.
The number is still so low in Princeton…this is a fear story.
Would be helpful to include # of tests, comparisons to year ago, asymptomatic vs symptomatic, vaccinated vs not vaccinated, date of the vaccinations, and detail on the “contact tracing and household situations” which is most of the positive tests. I might be good to know if the month-over-month increase in positive PCR results has a corresponding increase in diseases reports, in hospitalizations, in deaths. Also good to how many Princeton positive tests are Delta.