By Matt Arco | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
New Jersey health officials reported 346 new coronavirus cases Tuesday and five additional deaths as the rate of transmission dropped for the fourth consecutive day and remains below the key benchmark of 1, which indicates whether the outbreak declining.
The latest update brings the Garden State death toll to 15,953 with 14,124 confirmed and 1,829 probable fatalities — second highest in the United States. The total number of positive coronavirus tests climbed to 190,021, eighth in the nation.
The latest figures were announced on Twitter by Gov. Phil Murphy, hours after he delivered his revised fiscal year 2021 budget address at SHI Stadium at Rutgers in Piscataway.
New Jersey’s rate of transmission now stands at 0.83 after pushing over the key benchmark of 1 last week. The Department of Health reported the rate of transmission was 0.85 Monday, down from 0.90 on Sunday and 0.99 on Saturday. It was 1.04 on Friday and 1.06 on Thursday.
Any number above 1 means each newly infected person is spreading the virus to at least one other person, on average.
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