By ROD HIRSCH Credits: Centers for Disease Control & Prevention By ROD HIRSCH January 2, 2021 at 2:27 PM SOMERVILLE, NJ - It may be a new calendar year, but the relentless COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge around the world, nation, New Jersey and Somerset County. The Somerset County Department of Health on Saturday, reported an increase of 173 positive tests for the COVID-19 virus on the first day of 2021, bringing the total number of cases to 12,452 with 581 COVID-19 deaths reported since March 8. The New Jersey Department of Health on Saturday reported a total of 488,372 positive cases of the coronavirus since the pandemic began its spread in the state 299 days ago, an increase of 5,511 overnight. The death toll in New Jersey increased by 27 overnight for a total of 17,166 deaths. There have been 7,792,714 COVID-19 tests administered in New Jersey.