Municipal officials reported 640 new Covid-19 cases, biggest daily caseload since the start of the pandemic, on Monday.

Officials noted 434 cases were new and 206 were old cases that were not previously reported to the city. Some of the old cases go back to October.

Still, the 434 new cases for Monday represents a new record. Previous record was 323 daily cases, according to municipal data.

“House gatherings are responsible for a lot of the new cases we are seeing. However at this time community prevalence of the disease is so high that it is becoming increasingly easy to contract the virus,” said health officer Paul Persaud.

Health officials suspect gatherings leading up to Christmas has led to a surge in cases.

On Tuesday, the city reported 220 new cases. Daily cases had come down just before Christmas.

370 people in Paterson have died since the start of the pandemic.

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