Federal health officials recommend masking for indoor, public spaces in 11 New Jersey counties. Although the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention added one more county to its masking recommendations this week, the state’s case totals began to level off from the springtime surge.

The CDC recommends masking in counties with “high” COVID-19 community levels — a metric based on hospitalizations and case rates. The agency updates its color-coded COVID maps each Thursday — this week adding Mercer County. The CDC already recommended indoor masking in Sussex, Morris, Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, Cape May, Burlington, Camden, Salem and Gloucester Counties.

All other New Jersey counties have medium COVID community levels.

Sixty-five people in New Jersey died from COVID in the past week, according to the CDC. But the state’s number of hospital patients with confirmed or suspected COVID patients fell from 908 on Monday to 865 as of Thursday.

New Jersey’s COVID case totals had steadily increased since mid-March but began to level off recently. The state averaged 4,961 new cases per day in the past week after averaging 4,903 daily infections the prior week.

Earlier this month, several school districts brought back mask requirements amid rising COVID cases throughout the state. Montgomery Township in Somerset County temporarily re-instated a mask mandate for township employees and members of the public in township-owned buildings.

Meanwhile, federal regulators will meet June 15 to review data on two COVID vaccines: Pfizer’s for children 6 months to 4 years and Moderna’s for ages 6 months to 5 years. Health officials have yet to authorize any COVID vaccines for children younger than 5.

Serious COVID illness or death from the virus has been less common with young children than older age demographics. But the CDC suggests getting eligible children vaccinated against COVID, because it can still make them sick enough to require hospitalization and can protect them from longterm complications.

“Vaccinating children can also help keep them in school or daycare and safely participating in sports, playdates, and other group activities,” the CDC says.

Additionally, the CDC found that 1 in 5 adults experience a new condition a month or more after surviving COVID, according to new research. The findings shed light on the prevalence of long COVID — an area in which little public data is available.

COVID survivors have twice the risk for developing pulmonary embolism or respiratory conditions, according to the CDC. Long COVID symptoms can also include neurologic and mental-health conditions, blood clots, kidney failure and cardiovascular conditions, the agency says.

A study of 13 million veterans found that vaccination can reduce the risk of getting long COVID by 15 percent, according to the Washinton University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The research found the vaccines were more effective in preventing some of the most worrisome symptoms of long COVID, with lung and blood-clotting disorders declining by 49 and 56 percent, respectively, among those vaccinated.