Despite masking, mandates, high vaccination rate, new jersey logs the worst covid-19 day since january
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Despite masking, mandates, high vaccination rate, New Jersey logs the worst COVID-19 day since January

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1 min read
December 13, 2021

TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey leads the nation in vaccinations per capita. School children in the Garden State are forced to wear face masks to school. Many state government offices remain closed or restricted to the public. State workers are working remotely and the state has a governor who has enforced arguably the toughest COVID-19 restrictions in America.

But, none of it appears to be working. While states like Florida where there are no COVID-19 mandates are experiencing pandemic low numbers of COVID-19 cases, COVID-aware New Jersey is experiencing a third, larger wave, bigger than the one during the initial wave of the pandemic.

On Friday, Governor Phil Murphy announced 5,463 new cases and 17 new COVID-19 related deaths. Most of those cases are delta variant cases according to the New Jersey COVID-19 dashboard.

During the height of New Jersey’s 2020 lockdown, daily positive caseloads averaged between 3,000 and 4,000 per day. The last time New Jersey had over 5,000 cases in a single day was on April 1st when 5,608 cases were reported. Friday’s total was the highest single-day total since January 29th when 5,986 cases were reported.

New Jersey’s surge comes as the state is among leaders in vaccination rates with 69.2% of residents being fully vaccinated. Only New York (70.4%) and Massachusetts (73.1%) have higher vaccination rates.

Despite the high positive test rate, death rates in this new fourth wave are considerably lower than in the first two waves of COVID-19. The seven-day death rate average is 17. Before vaccinations, that rate reached a high of 268 in the spring of 2020. Last winter, the seven-day death rate average peaked at 98.

Phil Stilton is the Editor and Publisher of Shore News Network, an independent digital newsroom providing original reporting on New Jersey, national news, government, public policy, public safety, courts, and community affairs.

As founder of the publication, Stilton leads editorial strategy, investigative reporting, and daily newsroom operations while overseeing coverage that reaches millions of readers annually.

With extensive experience covering municipal government, county government, state legislatures, elections, law enforcement, emergency management, and public records, Stilton specializes in translating complex government actions into clear, factual reporting. His work frequently relies on primary source documents, including court filings, legislation, public meeting records, election finance disclosures, government databases, police reports, and Freedom of Information and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests. He has reported extensively on local government accountability, taxpayer spending, campaign finance, public corruption investigations, infrastructure, public safety, and the policies affecting New Jersey residents.

Under Stilton's editorial leadership, Shore News Network has grown into one of New Jersey's largest independent digital news organizations, publishing thousands of original news articles each year while providing breaking news coverage, investigative reporting, and analysis across state and local government. The publication's reporting is routinely sourced from official government agencies, public officials, court records, and firsthand documentation, with a commitment to transparency, attribution, corrections when warranted, and clearly distinguishing factual reporting from opinion.

Stilton's journalism follows established newsroom standards emphasizing accuracy, verification, fairness, and accountability. Every effort is made to verify information through official records and multiple reliable sources before publication. His reporting is intended to provide readers with timely, well-documented information that helps them understand the issues affecting their communities, while maintaining editorial independence from political parties, government agencies, advocacy organizations, and commercial interests.

Readers can submit story tips, corrections, public records, or media inquiries through the official Shore News Network website or its verified social media channels. Shore News Network welcomes corrections and updates when new information becomes available as part of its ongoing commitment to accurate and transparent journalism.

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