The Covid surge that took place in New Jersey during the end of December and the beginning of January seems to be diminishing. This is shown through the number of cases, number of hospitalizations, transmission rate, and more. On January 29, New Jersey reported 4,571 cases of Covid. This is significantly better than the 33,459 cases that were reported at the peak of the surge. Also, within the positive cases, hospitalization has gone down 46%. Another indication that the situation is getting better is that the transmission rate has lowered. The transmission rate was 1.92 in the beginning of the month, and now it has dropped to 0.54. This means that earlier in January, almost two people were getting infected for every person that had Covid. Now, this has lowered and only half of a person gets infected for every person who tests positive. 

Among these drops in numbers, another statistic that has declined is the positivity rate in New Jersey. As of January 24, the positivity rate was 11.87%. This means that “just under 1 in 8 people who were tested had a positive result” (NJ.com). This is a large improvement compared to the positivity rate of 30% at the end of December. This meant that one in every three people who tested were positive. Clearly, this is another significant decrease that has shown how the situation is improving. Lastly, the number of children being quarantined from school has lowered. In our school, Marlboro High School, there were over one hundred students who had to be quarantined and go on a Google Meet for class the week before and the week after winter break. Now, there are less than twenty students who have to do this. Hopefully, the numbers will continue to go in this direction and things will keep improving.