NJ reports 3,635 new COVID-19 cases, 23 deaths as hospitals continue to see surge in patients

New Jersey reported 3,635 more coronavirus cases and 23 more deaths on Friday, while hospitalizations rose for the 21st day in a row as the second wave of the pandemic continues.

On a positive note, officials also announced that New Jersey could receive up to 160,000 doses of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine by Christmas if the company obtains emergency use approval from the federal government.

And if Moderna’s vaccine follows a similar path, that could mean a total of 460,000 doses of vaccine in the state by early January, while a larger rollout to the general population could take place in April or May. .

Meanwhile, Gov. Phil Murphy did not announce new restrictions to tackle Wave 2 on Friday – although the mayor of Newark said the state’s largest city would ask residents to stay in their homes for 10 days. starting the day before Thanksgiving.

But Murphy has warned the next few months as we wait for a vaccine to be tough. He said the numbers would become “unequivocally worse” as more people go inside due to the colder weather, even though the state has significantly increased testing.

Officials continued to urge residents to wear masks, practice social distancing, wash their hands and cut back on the string of upcoming holiday celebrations.

“Between personal responsibility and exceptional New Jersey behavior and more testing and vaccines that are real … you start looking at the distribution as early as next month and wide access in April and May, we’re in a completely place. different (than the first wave of spring), ”Murphy said during his last coronavirus briefing in Trenton.

“This is the critical moment,” he added. “It’s the locker room. The next six to eight weeks are the Super Bowl. We have to win. “

New Jersey has now announced a total of 297,370 positive tests out of more than 5.5 million tests administered since the outbreak began in March.

The state of 9 million people reported 16,712 coronavirus deaths during this period, including 14,900 confirmed deaths and 1,812 considered probable.

Friday marked the first time in four days New Jersey reported less than 4,000 new cases. But the statewide seven-day average for new positive tests rose to 3,892 – up 29% from last week and 278% from the previous month.

The seven-day average of cases is now higher than the first wave of the pandemic, although the comparison is misleading as the state was then performing less than 12,000 tests per day and the outbreak was likely underestimated. The state averages about 45,000 tests per day this month, and that number does not include recently deployed rapid tests.

Murphy reminded residents that more than 400 testing sites are available statewide.

Yet the key figures used by health officials to track the epidemic continue to move in the wrong direction.

There were 2,505 patients with confirmed (2,272) or suspected (233) coronavirus cases in 71 New Jersey hospitals as of Thursday evening. This is much less than the 8,000 hospitalized in April, but the most since May 28. Hospitalizations have almost tripled in the past month.

The positivity rate for tests performed on Monday, the most recent day available, was 7.98%. The rate throughout last week had remained above 8% after falling below 4% during the summer.

The latest statewide transmission rate fell to 1.40. Any number greater than 1 means the epidemic continues to expand. New Jersey has been above this mark since early September.

Thirteen of the 21 counties reported at least 100 new cases on Friday, led by the counties of Passaic (386), Essex (343) and Bergen (338).

The state has not announced the date of the 23 newly reported deaths.

The update comes as coronavirus cases, deaths and hospitalizations increase across the United States.

Murphy said the New Jersey numbers were rising because people were tired of observing viral restrictions such as wearing masks and congregating more indoors as the weather cooled, especially indoors. private homes.

To combat the spread, Murphy ordered indoor New Jersey bars and restaurants to close daily at 10 p.m. and canceled interstate indoor sports up to the high school level. Indoor gatherings are now limited to 10 people, down from 25, and from Monday, outdoor gatherings will be limited to 150, down from 500.

Murphy stopped before ordering another statewide shutdown like he did in the spring, but stressed that all options remain on the table.

COUNTY-BY-COUNTY NUMBERS (sorted by most recent)

• Passaic County: 26,415 positive tests (386 new), 1,152 confirmed deaths (144 probable)
• Essex County: 31,902 positive tests (343 new), 1,965 confirmed deaths (230 probable)
• Bergen County: 31,006 positive tests (338 new), 1,852 confirmed deaths (246 probable)
• Monmouth County: 18,006 positive tests (276 new), 792 confirmed deaths (92 probable)
• Camden County: 16,103 positive tests (270 new), 604 confirmed deaths (56 probable)
• Middlesex County: 27,418 positive tests (255 new), 1,269 confirmed deaths (203 probable)
• Ocean County: 19,648 positive tests (254 new), 1,026 confirmed deaths (67 probable)
• Hudson County: 28,370 positive tests (253 new), 1,396 confirmed deaths (158 probable)
• Mercer County: 12,087 positive tests (217 new), 612 confirmed deaths (36 probable)
• Union County: 25,437 positive tests (196 new), 1,245 confirmed deaths (171 probable)
• Burlington County: 11,411 positive tests (177 new), 489 confirmed deaths (41 probable)
• Gloucester County: 7,718 positive tests (129 new), 256 confirmed deaths (7 probable)
• Morris County: 11,883 positive tests (127 new), 707 confirmed deaths (147 probable)
• Atlantic County: 7,023 positive tests (96 new), 263 confirmed deaths (13 probable)
• Somerset County: 8,146 positive tests (84 new), 532 confirmed deaths (75 probable)
• Cumberland County: 4,636 positive tests (51 new), 162 confirmed deaths (8 probable)
• Cape May County: 1,498 positive tests (45 new), 95 confirmed deaths (10 probable)
• Hunterdon County: 2,155 positive tests (36 new), 75 confirmed deaths (54 probable)
• Sussex County: 2,245 positive tests (36 new), 162 confirmed deaths (36 probable)
• Warren County: 2,181 positive tests (25 new), 160 confirmed deaths (13 probable)
• Salem County: 1,442 positive tests (17 new), 86 confirmed deaths (5 probable)

HOSPITALIZATIONS

As of Wednesday evening, 2,505 patients had confirmed (2,272) or suspected (233) cases of COVID-19 in 71 hospitals in New Jersey. That’s 34 more than the day before.

Of these, 452 in critical or intensive care (four less than the day before), including 233 in ventilators (17 more).

There were 333 coronavirus patients admitted and 290 released on Monday, according to the state’s online dashboard.

New Jersey’s 71 acute care hospitals are currently two-thirds full, according to the New Jersey Hospital Association. Patients tend to be younger in age, reducing hospital stays, and hospitals have become more efficient at treating the virus.

TRANSMISSION RATE

New Jersey’s latest transmission rate of 1.40 is down from the 1.42 reported Thursday.

This is much lower than when the rate was above 5 towards the end of March, as the extent of the outbreak was still being developed and testing was scarce.

But any number greater than 1 means that each newly infected person, on average, transmits the virus to at least one other person. Any number less than 1 means the epidemic is decreasing.

A transmission rate of 1.40 means that every 100 people infected will transmit the virus to 140 more.

SCHOOL CASE

Although hundreds of school districts have reported cases of the coronavirus and dozens of New Jersey schools have temporarily closed since the start of the school year, public health officials said 56 schools have confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks.

The state scorecard shows 239 cases at those 56 schools, but those numbers only include confirmed transmissions to the school. Students or staff suspected of having been infected outside of school, or cases that cannot be confirmed as outbreaks at school are not included.

Murphy resisted the order to close schools statewide, saying those numbers were better than expected.

BREAKDOWN BY AGE

Disaggregated by age, 30-49 year olds represent the highest percentage of New Jersey residents who have caught the virus (31.6%), followed by 50-64 year olds (24.7%), 18-29 (18 , 5%), 65 -79 (11.7%), 80 years and over (7.1%), 5-17 (5.2%) and 0-4 (1.1%).

On average, the virus has been deadlier for older residents, especially those with pre-existing conditions. Almost half of the deaths from COVID-19 in the state were among residents aged 80 and over (47.1%), followed by those aged 65 to 79 (32.2%), from 50 to 64 years (16%), 30 to 49 years (4.3%), 18 to 29 years. (0.4%), 5-17 (0%) and 0-4 (0.02%).

At least 7,274 COVID-19 deaths in the state have occurred among residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. This number has also increased at a faster rate in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, at least 17,500 more people in New Jersey have died this year than expected, according to state mortality data, which suggests the pandemic has claimed even more lives than the state total. , according to an ongoing analysis by NJ Advance Media.

WORLDWIDE FIGURES

As of Friday morning, there had been more than 57.1 million positive COVID-19 tests worldwide, according to an ongoing count from Johns Hopkins University. More than 1.36 million people have died from complications from the coronavirus.

The United States has the most positive tests in the world, with more than 11.7 million, and the most deaths, with more than 252,800.

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Brent Johnson can be reached at [email protected].