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New Jersey reported 516 newly confirmed coronavirus cases and two newly confirmed deaths on Friday as the state’s daily positive cases continue to rise amid the rise of the highly contagious Delta variant.
This is the second day in a row that the state has announced more than 400 cases in a single day and the most reported in a day since 698 on May 21.
The Garden State’s daily cases are still below the thousands reported each day in winter and early spring, while daily coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths remain near record territory. But officials have warned that the Delta variant of the virus has become the predominant strain in the state and poses a particular threat to unvaccinated residents.
New Jersey’s seven-day average for confirmed positive COVID-19 tests is now 353, up 55% from a week ago and 84% from a month ago.
The statewide transmission rate rose again, to 1.24, from 1.16 the previous day. This is the highest point since it was 1.24 on November 25. Any number greater than 1 indicates that each new case results in more than one additional case and shows that the state’s epidemic is expanding again.
Officials say vaccines largely protect people against variants – especially severe cases, hospitalizations and deaths – but unvaccinated residents remain at risk and could contribute to further mutations. Officials say the majority of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in New Jersey are unvaccinated, although they did not provide specific data.
More than 5.15 million people who live, work or study in New Jersey have now been fully immunized, according to state data. This includes nearly 5 million people vaccinated at state sites and more than 112,300 residents who have been vaccinated out of state. There are approximately 9.2 million residents in the state, but the total number includes more than full-time residents.
More than 5.50 million people have received at least their first dose at a New Jersey site, state officials said. The state has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, although vaccinations have slowed in recent months and around 4 million people remain unvaccinated. Vaccines are in addition to any natural immunity people may have because they caught COVID-19 and survived.
There were 307 hospital patients with COVID-19 or suspected cases at 71 New Jersey hospitals as of Thursday night – 18 fewer than the night before. Of those hospitalized, 44 were in intensive care and 25 on ventilators. There were 46 patients discharged. Hospitalizations have hovered around 300 in recent weeks.
Newly confirmed deaths have been single digits for 20 consecutive days.
Officials note that hospitalizations and deaths lag behind statistics, meaning they may not increase for days or weeks after the increase in new cases.
The positivity rate for all PCR tests on Sunday, the most recent day available, was 2.82%.
New Jersey, an early coronavirus hotspot, has now reported 26,531 deaths from COVID-19-related complications in over 16 months – 23,815 confirmed and 2,716 considered probable. This is the highest number of COVID-19 deaths per capita in the United States
In total, the Garden State has reported 897,045 total confirmed cases on more than 14.4 million tests since announcing its first case on March 4, 2020. The state has also reported 130,909 positive antigen tests, which are considered probable cases.
Gov. Phil Murphy has lifted the majority of New Jersey’s coronavirus restrictions, though mask warrants remain on NJ Transit and in state buildings, among others. He also ended the state’s emergency in the face of the pandemic, although he retains certain powers to continue to manage the state’s response.
The governor last week said the state’s COVID-19 numbers are “very strong,” but noted officials are monitoring the Delta variant “very, very closely” and keeping “all options on the table” as it relates to which concerns the possibility of reinstalling any restrictions.
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Home page
People aged 30 to 49 make up the largest percentage of New Jersey residents who have caught the virus (30.9%), followed by those aged 50 to 64 (22.4%), 18 to 29 (20%) , 5 to 17 (10.1%). ), 65 to 79 (10%), 80 and over (4.4%) and 0 to 4 (2.1%), according to state data.
The virus has been more deadly for older residents, especially those with pre-existing conditions. Almost half of the deaths from COVID-19 in the state were among residents 80 and older (45.4%), followed by 65 to 79 (33.7%), 50 to 64 (16.4%), 30 to 49 (4.1%), 18 to 29. (0.4%), 5 to 17 (0%) and 0 to 4 (0%).
At least 8,063 of COVID-19 deaths in the state have occurred among residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to state data.
As of Friday morning, more than 189 million positive cases of COVID-19 were reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University, with more than 4 million people dying from complications related to the virus. The United States has reported the most cases (over 33.9 million) and deaths (over 608,400) than any other country.
More than 3.5 billion doses of vaccines have been administered worldwide.
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Brent Johnson can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @ johnsb01.
Matt Arco can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.
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