Mercer & Burlington Counties Named COVID-19 ‘Hot Spots’ By FEMA

For the first time since April 13, Mercer County has been identified as an "emerging hot spot" for the COVID-19 outbreak, by the Department of Homeland Security.

Similarly, for the first time since April 25, Burlington County has been placed on that list as well.

The reports, which are distributed by the Department of Homeland Security, were obtained by ABC News. 6ABC says that 98 emerging hot spots were identified in 30 states, and they say that 21 of them were new emerging hot spots.

Across New Jersey, Atlantic County was also added to the list. Gloucester and Ocean County remain on the list, ABC News reports.

In Pennsylvania, ABC news says that Cumberland County has been classified as an emerging hot spot.

The exact nature of what goes into these reports was not immediately made clear. Click here for more information from ABC News about the report.

New Jersey announced has 261 new positive cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, pushing the state's cumulative total to 180,970, Governor Murphy said.

The rate of transmission in New Jersey remained steady at 1.14, above the key benchmark of 1. That means that for every infected person 1.14 persons will transmit the disease.

Mercer County reported 14 new cases on Thursday, crossing the 8,000 COVID-19 case mark. Burlington County also reported 14 new cases of the coronavirus. The county's total is now at 5,732 cases.