NJ Is Not Safe When It Comes To COVID-19

So you have likely been reading or hearing about the recent surge in COVID-19 cases here in New Jersey and you have to wonder why. Sure I know the standard answer is “people are relaxing” but it seems there has to be more to it than that. It does appear like many of those testing positive are in their 30’s and 40’s but the trend is one we should all be concerned about.

So how does New Jersey compare of the rest of the country when it comes to COVID safety? According to WalletHub we are not doing well as they compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia using five key metrics…rates of COVID-19 transmission, positive testing, hospitalizations and death. In addition the percentage of those who have been vaccinated was used to come up with the rankings.

We are certainly towards the bottom…ranked 48^th in overall safety with only Florida, New York and Georgia below us. If you are looking to escape to somewhere safe from the pandemic you might want to head to Alaska, New Mexico, Hawaii, Maine or South Dakota because they are the five safest states. By the way the picture does get any better when you break out some of the individual categories. New Jersey is 49^th when it comes to highest positive testing rate, 50^th in highest hospitalization rate and 47^th in highest death rate…all very grim results.

I’ve said it before and I will repeat it. I know of more people who have tested positive for COVID in the last month or so then in the year prior. While not all have had to deal with symptoms a couple have been hospitalized and said it was not a pleasurable experience. If this is all because we are letting our guard down they let’s get it up. We can blame government leaders all we want for the limits put on what we can and cannot do but they are not going to relax them unless things trend in a positive direction.

As much as you might hate it….wear a mask, wash your hands, watch your distance and when you can get the vaccine. Let's get back to living as soon as possible.