While the sheer magnitude of Jersey City’s coronavirus statistics — nearly 3,000 cases and 156 deaths — garners statewide attention, three much smaller communities to the north have been the hardest hit in Hudson County.

Among the most densely populated municipalities in the country, and with multiple senior buildings and nursing homes, North Bergen has nearly double the rate of COVID-19 patients than Jersey City. Union City and West New York, even more crowded than North Bergen, are not far behind.

“North Bergen has been very proactive in dealing with COVID-19, by performing aggressive contact tracing on residents who test positive and constantly disseminating information to our community through various means,” North Bergen Health Director Janet Castro said. “We are actively monitoring our long-term care facilities and are receiving daily updates from the management at these facilities.”

The Jersey Journal looked at the latest coronavirus case reports by each municipality in Hudson County and compared the totals with the populations of each community to come up with a per-1,000 ratio.

The numbers are surprising, with Secaucus and Weehawken fourth and fifth, respectively, in COVID-19 cases per 1,000 residents. North Bergen is behind only Jersey City in coronavirus-related deaths, with 102, or 1.65 per every 1,000 residents. By comparison, Jersey City’s 156 deaths represent less than 1 (0.59) per 1,000 residents.

Union City officials cited the city’s tightly packed population and increased testing as two of the reasons for the higher rate of COVID-19.

City spokeswoman Erin Knoedler said the city health officer visited each nursing home last month and met with the administration to ensure they were following guidelines. The city then stepped up efforts, with health inspectors visiting nursing homes to spot check conditions, she said.

North Bergen is home to three large nursing homes — Hudson Hills, the Harborage and Hudsonview — as well as residential buildings for senior citizens, who are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19.

Officials have said that a majority the township’s deaths are patients at these facilities.

“This virus has proven to be very difficult to deal with, however the people of North Bergen are resilient and together we will get over this dire situation," Mayor Nicholas Sacco said. “We have taken numerous actions to slow the spread of COVID-19 and inform our residents about social distancing guidelines and other ways they can protect themselves.”

Jersey City residents have tested positive for COVID-19 at a rate of 11.2 for every 1,000 people.

“(Mayor Steve Fulop’s) swift and forward-thinking actions have played a key role in minimizing the spread of this deadly virus” in Jersey City, spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said. "... Jersey City was the first to implement a curfew, the first to set aside shopping hours for the frail, the first to open city-run testing sites to get a firmer grasp on how the city is able to slow the spread of this pandemic."

Wallace-Scalcione also noted that Jersey City is offering free testing to all residents and staff at the state-licensed nursing homes citywide.