By Donald Gilpin

On Monday, March 21, the Princeton Health Department reported declining COVID-19 case numbers, 16 new cases in the previous seven days, 43 new cases in Princeton in the previous 14 days. The first weeks in January this year, Princeton recorded its highest totals of the pandemic with 287 new cases in a single week and 568 cases in a 14-day period.

Of rising concern to health officials and others, however, is a new strain of COVID-19.  An Omicron variant known as BA.2 has caused recent surges in several European countries and is now spreading across the United States.

It has been called the “stealth variant” because it can be difficult to detect. Princeton Deputy Administrator for Health and Community Services Jeff Grosser explained, “It has genetic mutations that could make it harder to distinguish from the Delta variant.” The World Health Organization has classified BA.2 as a variant of concern, he added.  Expert opinions vary as to what its impact might be in this country.

The BA.2 variant accounted for more than half of the cases reported in New Jersey as of March 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Although it appears to be highly contagious, one and a half times more transmissible than the original Omicron strain, according to Grosser, it also appears to be less deadly than previous variants, especially to vaccinated individuals and those already infected by Omicron.

The March 22 statewide COVID transmission rate remained below one, at 0.88, indicating that the outbreak continues to decline. All 21 counties in New Jersey are listed as having low rates of transmission, according to the CDC.

A Princeton University February spike in case numbers has subsided, with the University COVID-19 dashboard reporting a positivity rate of 1.16 percent for the week that ended March 18. That’s down from 1.25 percent from the week before that and 2.4 percent and 2.59 percent in previous weeks.

Princeton Public Schools reported seven new cases in the week ended March 18, just three the week before that, and six for the first week in March. In early January PPS weekly totals were 96, 79, and 39.

The Princeton Health Department will host COVID-19 vaccination clinics on Wednesdays, on March 30 at the Princeton Senior Resource Center, 45 Stockton Street, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.; on April 13 at the Princeton Health Department, 1 Monument Drive, 3 to 5 p.m.; and on April 28 at La Mexicana, 150 Witherspoon Street, 5 to 8 p.m.

The health department is also continuing work through identified clusters of COVID-19 cases in Princeton, and has recently embarked on a new project through the Mayor’s Wellness Campaign from the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute. The project seeks to combat social isolation, which many have experienced during the pandemic. Water color classes and gardening kits are being provided to interested residents, with more information available in the municipal newsletter and on the municipal webpage at princetonnj.gov.