Gov. Phil Murphy said the state is starting to see small spikes in COVID-19 reinfection by those returning from out-of-state travel, as the number of people who tested positive for the coronavirus increased by 398 in New Jersey. .
An additional 23 deaths attributed to the coronavirus were reported Sunday, a day before the state continues its gradual reopening plans by allowing summer camps, summer school, and outdoor graduation ceremonies to resume up to 500 persons.
The new numbers bring the state total to 15,211 known COVID-19-related deaths – 13,355 laboratory-confirmed and 1,856 probable – with 173,402 known cases since the state’s first case was announced on March 4.
Murphy announced the figures on Twitter.
In a previous interview on “Meet the Press,” the governor said state contact trackers have identified people who returned from out-of-state access points, including Florida and South Carolina, and brought the virus with them.
“There was a wedding in Myrtle Beach,” he told Andrea Mitchell, referring to the spa town of South Carolina that has been linked to clusters of coronavirus cases among young adults in several states. “We absolutely have evidence of people who attended that wedding and returned to New Jersey. Jersey people who were visiting there.
Administration officials did not disclose anything else, citing privacy concerns, but confirmed that local health officials have been in contact with several people who returned from Myrtle Beach after attending a wedding, and were coordinating with their counterparts in South Carolina.
According to published reports, groups of COVID-19 cases in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio have also been linked to visitors returning from Myrtle Beach.
Murphy said New Jersey has already paid a huge price for a virus that has killed thousands.
“Listen, this is lethal,” he commented.
Referring to the increase in reinfection in other states, he added that a national strategy is needed.
“We are only as strong as our weakest link at the moment,” said the governor, calling for mandatory masking across the country.
Here in New Jersey, there were 917 patients hospitalized with or suspected of the virus in 69 of New Jersey’s 71 hospitals on Saturday night, down from 983 the previous day, according to the latest data.
Of those patients, 210 were in critical or intensive care and 151 were on ventilators. There were 95 coronavirus patients discharged on Saturday.
New Jersey’s daily figures, sometime among the highest in the country, have fallen dramatically from their peak in mid-April and have remained relatively stable in recent weeks, after months of lengthy restrictions and business closings.
Meanwhile, many other states are now dealing with waves of new cases and hospitalizations. There were 45,283 new cases reported in the United States on Saturday.
New Jersey, a densely populated state of 9 million residents, still ranks second among US states in total COVID-19 deaths, but is now fifth in total cases.
Garden State has also seen its retransmission rate stay below the key mark of 1 for the past few weeks, meaning that each infected resident transmits the virus to less than one person. But the rate has increased in recent days.
With the increase in cases in other states, Murphy is also calling travelers from 16 states to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, including New Jersey residents who visited those states.
Authorities have said the increases in the new cases are due in part to the fact that evidence has increased dramatically in recent weeks. They point out that hospitalizations, retransmission rate, and daily positivity are better indicators of how the state handles the crisis because test results may be delayed.
More than 1.53 million tests have now been conducted in the state since the outbreak began here.
LONG TERM CARE
About 44% of New Jersey COVID-19 deaths have been residents or staff members of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
There have now been 36,598 cases in 557 of those facilities, according to the state’s tracking website. That includes 24,258 residents and 12,340 staff members.
It also includes 6,558 laboratory confirmed deaths. That number increases to 6,673 when COVID-19-related deaths are included: 6,554 residents and 119 staff members.
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live Map Tracker The | Newsletter The | Homepage
The total number of coronavirus cases in New Jersey is cumulative and does not reflect the thousands of residents who have recovered. More than 30,560 residents in the state have recovered from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Authorities say increases in new deaths and positive tests may produce total numbers that don’t match the previous day’s numbers because the state is constantly investigating and reevaluating cases.
Murphy has been gradually removing its restrictions in recent weeks, with the state currently in Stage 2 of its gradual reopening plans. Casinos, amusement parks, bowling alleys, playgrounds, indoor pools, museums, and libraries may reopen with restrictions beginning Thursday. The limit on the number of people allowed at outdoor gatherings increased from 250 to 500 on Friday.
All reopens come with capacity limits, coverage guidelines, and other restrictions.
But Murphy has postponed the reopening of the indoor dinner in restaurants and bars with a capacity of 25%, which was scheduled to start Thursday. He said it is still too dangerous because clients are largely sedentary for a long period of time and cannot wear face masks while eating.
Murphy has not outlined specific benchmarks the state has reached by gradually lifting its blocking restrictions. Instead, it has signaled a general drop in the state’s daily metrics.
The governor also noted that New Jersey has increased testing and is expanding contact trackers to help officials more easily track and eliminate coronavirus spikes.
Meanwhile, approximately 1.3 million Garden State residents have applied for unemployment benefits as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the economy. But the number of workers who filed last week fell by 15%.
By early Sunday afternoon, more than 11.3 million people tested positive for COVID-19 worldwide, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University. Of these, more than 531,700 have died, while more than 6.1 million have recovered. There have been 129,718 deaths in the United States.
NJ Advance Media Staff Writer Brent johnson contributed to this report.
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Ted Sherman can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL.
