By Brent Johnson for NJ.com
As Gov. Phil Murphy announced the state will have a mostly mail-in November election because of the pandemic.
New Jersey on Friday reported 10 more deaths attributed to the coronavirus — half of those occurring this week — and 585 new cases.
That marks the second straight day the state has reported more than 500 new cases, though its transmission rate held steady again below the critical benchmark showing the outbreak is shrinking.
“Our numbers generally look very good,” Murphy said Friday afternoon during his latest coronavirus briefing in Trenton. “(But) with all due respect to those who think we can just flip a light switch and get back to everything as normal, we have had 3,281 positive tests come back in the past seven days in the state of New Jersey.”
The Garden State’s death toll from COVID-19 now stands at 15,903 fatalities — 14,064 confirmed and 1,839 considered probable — in more than five months since the first case was reported March 4.
The state has announced 187,164 positive tests since the outbreak began out of more than 2.4 million tests administered in the state so far.
Of the 10 newly reported deaths, one is from Aug. 12 and four from Aug. 11, while the rest occurred from July 21 to Aug. 8 and have just recently been confirmed, Murphy said as announced the new figures at his latest coronavirus press briefing in Trenton.
The state reported its latest transmission rate is 0.92, the same mark as reported Wednesday and Thursday. The number has remained below the key mark of 1 this week after officials announced Aug. 2 the number had spiked to a four-month high of 1.49.
“Want to drive that lower, but that is under 1,” Murphy said.
Any number above 1 means each newly infected person is spreading the virus to at least one other person, on average. Anything below 1 means the outbreak is shrinking. The rate had been below 1 for weeks during the strictest parts of New Jersey’s coronavirus lockdowns but had fluctuated above and below 1 in July as the state took more reopening steps.
The state’s daily positivity rate — the percentage of residents who test positive in one day — was 1.63% on Monday, the date with the most recent available data.
Murphy called that a “good number” and “almost no state in the nation” can “match that.”
Friday marks the 35th straight day New Jersey — an early coronavirus hotspot — has reported fewer than 50 new deaths and the 14th straight day it has reported fewer than 15.
But state officials have warned about upticks in cases in recent days. On Thursday, New Jersey reported 699 new cases, the highest one-day total in cases so far this month and only the second time since June 6 that the state reported more than 600 new cases.
“We’re watching this like a hawk,” Murphy said Friday morning during an interview with CNBC. “I don’t like that number. But the fact of matter is: 98% of folks getting tests are negative. So please, God, it stays that way.”
The state’s daily numbers are also well below their peaks in April, when it was routine for the state to announce hundreds of new fatalities and thousands of new positive tests a day.
Still, Murphy said during his briefing that “we cannot stop with our social distancing“ or “wearing our face coverings.“
”We can’t be going to house parties or standing among mask-less crowds outside a bar,” he added. “We have to stick with the things we’ve been doing — things that are saving lives, including our own.”
HOSPITALIZATIONS
There were 514 patients being treated for confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases across New Jersey’s 71 hospitals as of Thursday night. That’s 31 fewer patients than the night before.
Of those, 278 tested positive, while 236 were considered under investigation while awaiting test results.
Meanwhile, 91 were in critical or intensive care (12 fewer than the night before) and 40 were on ventilators (12 more than the night before).
There were 47 coronavirus patients discharged from the state’s hospitals Thursday, according to the state’s tracking website.
New Jersey’s hospitalizations have declined steadily over the last few months after peaking at more than 8,000 in mid-April.
ELECTION CHANGE
Murphy on Friday announced that the Nov. 3 elections in New Jersey — including the 2020 presidential race — will be mostly mail-in to protect the state against the virus.
All of the state’s more than 6 million active registered voters will receive vote-by-mail ballots, though there will be limited in-person polling locations across the state.
“As much as we enjoy the time-honored traditions of joining our neighbors on line to cast our ballots on Election Day, and as much as we are energized by seeking packed polling places, we must recognize that this is not a regular election year” Murphy said. “We can say that in more ways than one, but it certainly matters in terms of how we go about ensuring a free and open election in the face of this ongoing pandemic.”
THE LATEST ON SCHOOLS AND BUSINESSES REOPENING
Murphy on Wednesday announced New Jersey schools that meet certain criteria will be allowed to start the academic year with no in-person classes because of the pandemic. Previously, all districts were required to offer at least some in-person classes.
The governor stressed that the goal is for as many districts to reopen with in-person learning as possible.
New Jersey remains in Stage 2 of its plan to gradually lift coronavirus restrictions that Murphy ordered in March to fight the spread of COVID-19. Gyms, movie theaters and indoor dining sections of bars and restaurants remain closed until further notice.
That’s even though the state’s economy continues to suffer during the pandemic. Nearly 1.5 million workers in the state have filed for unemployment benefits since mid-March, though claims reached a five-month low last week.
Murphy said Friday the state is “trying to find a way to get to both indoor dining and get gyms open.”
“I can’t tell you when or how,” he said. “My guess is we’re gonna need to continue to see good numbers.”
He also stressed there will be capacity limits when that happens.
Meanwhile, the state is calling on travelers from 33 states and territories — including residents returning home — to self-quarantine for 14 days after arriving in New Jersey.
COUNTY-BY-COUNTY NUMBERS
Atlantic County: 3,535 cases (12 new), 237 confirmed deaths (15 probable)
Bergen County: 21,058 cases (45 new), 1,787 confirmed deaths (248 probable)
Burlington County: 6,108 cases (15 new), 435 confirmed deaths (39 probable)
Camden County: 8,733 cases (45 new), 525 confirmed deaths (55 probable)
Cape May County: 846 cases (5 new), 82 confirmed deaths (6 probable)
Cumberland County: 3,396 cases (10 new), 146 confirmed deaths (12 probable)
Essex County: 19,870 cases (18 new), 1,876 confirmed deaths (234 probable)
Gloucester County: 3,368 cases (20 new), 207 confirmed deaths (7 probable)
Hudson County: 19,792 cases (44 new), 1,341 confirmed deaths (167 probable)
Hunterdon County: 1,154 cases (3 new), 70 confirmed deaths (54 probable)
Mercer County: 8,169 cases (5 new), 583 confirmed deaths (39 probable)
Middlesex County: 18,045 cases (29 new), 1,206 confirmed deaths (205 probable)
Monmouth County: 10,347 cases (27 new), 759 confirmed deaths (97 probable)
Morris County: 7,315 cases (11 new), 682 confirmed deaths (147 probable)
Ocean County: 10,708 cases (39 new), 953 confirmed deaths (67 probable)
Passaic County: 17,858 cases (58 new), 1,095 confirmed deaths (147 probable)
Salem County: 919 cases (7 new), 81 confirmed deaths (6 probable)
Somerset County: 5,291 cases (9 new), 489 confirmed deaths (75 probable)
Sussex County: 1,344 cases (1 new), 161 confirmed deaths (37 probable)
Union County: 16,827 cases (16 new), 1,181 confirmed deaths (168 probable)
Warren County: 1,355 cases (3 new), 158 confirmed deaths (14 probable)
There are another 1,001 positive cases that remain under investigation, with the patients’ home counties not
About half of the state’s deaths — at least 7,011 — have been of residents or staff members at the state’s nursing homes and longterm care centers.
The total number of coronavirus cases in the state is cumulative and does not reflect the thousands of residents who have recovered. More than 33,200 New Jersey residents have recovered from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.
As of early Friday afternoon, there have been more than 20.98 million positive tests for COVID-19 across the world, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. Of those, more than 760,600 have died, while more than 13 million have recovered.
There have been more than 167,300 deaths in the United States, by far the most in the world.
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
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