By Matt Arco | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
New Jersey on Friday reported a record number of coronavirus cases for the second consecutive day, announcing 5,673 more positive tests and an additional 48 newly confirmed deaths as hospitalizations increased for the sixth straight day, reaching the highest number of patients since May.
The state’s seven-day average for new coronavirus cases increased Friday to 4,367, up 4% from a week ago and 147% higher than a month ago. That’s the highest seven-day average of the outbreak, though testing was scare in the spring and the extent of the infections was likely undercounted.
“The end is of the pandemic is not upon us with the news of the first shipments of a vaccine, but it is getting closer with each day,” Murphy said during his latest COVID-19 briefing in Trenton. “Let’s do all we can to make sure our entire New Jersey family is intact when that end comes.”
The positivity rate for tests conducted Monday, the most recent day available, was 10.42%, meaning 1 in 10 people who sought tests were infected. That’s based on 49,845 tests reported to the state for Monday so far and that also doesn’t include rapid tests, which are not being reported by state health officials. The positivity rate has been over 10% for six days — since Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving.
“Trust me, there are more cases than 5,673 when you add in the antigen tests,” Gov. Phil Murphy said.
He warned the state isn’t likely to start seeing the Thanksgiving-effect — the potential for new cases from holiday gatherings — for several days due to incubation times for infections and the multi-day turnaround for test results.
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