N.J. reports 35 COVID deaths, 3,758 cases. Nearly 2M fully vaccinated in state. – NJ.com

New Jersey on Thursday reported another 3,758 cases of the coronavirus and an additional 35 deaths as the state topped 5 million total vaccine doses administered with nearly 2 million fully vaccinated.

Gov. Phil Murphy announced the latest update in the outbreak on social media.

New Jersey’s seven-day average for confirmed cases is 3,424, down 18% from a week ago, but up 26% from a month ago. Officials have warned that a surge in cases from variants that are more easily transmissible is likely driving the recent infections.

Murphy loosened restrictions on indoor high school and youth sporting events Wednesday to make sure more parents can see their kids play by removing the 150 person limit on indoor practices and games, though all venues are stilled barred from exceeding 35% of the room’s total capacity.

He also announced grocery stores and some other retail businesses that were forced to shut down self-service food stations like buffets and salad bars can now open them up again.

The state’s 71 hospitals reported 2,378 patients as of Wednesday night, up three people from the day before and the highest number since Feb. 15. But that’s still well below the recent high of 3,873 on Dec. 22.

New Jersey health facilities and vaccine centers have now administered nearly 5,025,957 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine since the state’s first shot was given Dec. 15. That includes more than 3.2 million people with at least one dose, according to state data. More than 28% of New Jersey’s adult population has been fully vaccinated.

The governor said Wednesday he will get his shot Friday during a tour of Atlantic City’s mega-site.

The state’s rate of transmission is 1.02, down steadily from 1.04 on Wednesday, 1.06 on Tuesday and 1.07 on Monday. Any number over 1 indicates that the outbreak is growing, with each new case leading to at least one other case. A declining transmission rate means the spread is slowing.

In all, New Jersey has now reported 827,795 coronavirus cases out of more than 12.5 million PCR tests since the state reported its first case on March 4, 2020. There have also been 114,516 positive antigen tests. Those cases are considered probable, and health officials have warned that positive antigen tests could overlap with the confirmed PCR tests because they are sometimes given in tandem.

The state of 9.2 million people has reported 24,783 residents have died from complications related to COVID-19 — 22,210 confirmed deaths and 2,573 fatalities considered probable. The probable deaths, which are revised weekly, increased by five on Wednesday.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

VACCINATIONS BY COUNTY

  • ATLANTIC COUNTY – 163,584 doses administered
  • BERGEN COUNTY – 564,247 doses administered
  • BURLINGTON COUNTY – 265,799 doses administered
  • CAMDEN COUNTY – 298,824 doses administered
  • CAPE MAY COUNTY – 68,179 doses administered
  • CUMBERLAND COUNTY – 69,819 doses administered
  • ESSEX COUNTY – 384,481 doses administered
  • GLOUCESTER COUNTY – 181,297 doses administered
  • HUDSON COUNTY – 285,791 doses administered
  • HUNTERDON COUNTY – 71,292 doses administered
  • MERCER COUNTY – 196,751 doses administered
  • MIDDLESEX COUNTY – 431,854 doses administered
  • MONMOUTH COUNTY – 374,538 doses administered
  • MORRIS COUNTY – 354,878 doses administered
  • OCEAN COUNTY – 303,666 doses administered
  • PASSAIC COUNTY – 228,091 doses administered
  • SALEM COUNTY – 32,109 doses administered
  • SOMERSET COUNTY – 205,667 doses administered
  • SUSSEX COUNTY – 79,547 doses administered
  • UNION COUNTY – 268,205 doses administered
  • WARREN COUNTY – 51,396 doses administered
  • UNKNOWN COUNTY – 20,498 doses administered
  • OUT OF STATE – 125,444 doses administered

COUNTY-BY-COUNTY NUMBERS (sorted by most new cases)

  • Essex County: 80,273 confirmed cases (437 new), 2,527 confirmed deaths (291 probable)
  • Bergen County: 83,146 confirmed cases (428 new), 2,461 confirmed deaths (294 probable)
  • Middlesex County: 79,826 confirmed cases (405 new), 1,979 confirmed deaths (245 probable)
  • Hudson County: 74,427 confirmed cases (336 new), 1,942 confirmed deaths (203 probable)
  • Ocean County: 61,789 confirmed cases (286 new), 1,867 confirmed deaths (155 probable)
  • Monmouth County: 63,071 confirmed cases (276 new), 1,379 confirmed deaths (137 probable)
  • Passaic County: 60,139 confirmed cases (226 new), 1,618 confirmed deaths (194 probable)
  • Union County: 56,415 confirmed cases (209 new), 1,658 confirmed deaths (216 probable)
  • Morris County: 39,470 confirmed cases (177 new), 945 confirmed deaths (241 probable)
  • Camden County: 44,575 confirmed cases (164 new), 1,135 confirmed deaths (97 probable)
  • Burlington County: 35,482 confirmed cases (138 new), 738 confirmed deaths (63 probable)
  • Gloucester County: 24,185 confirmed cases (128 new), 555 confirmed deaths (30 probable)
  • Mercer County: 29,650 confirmed cases (112 new), 866 confirmed deaths (43 probable)
  • Atlantic County: 23,037 confirmed cases (97 new), 591 confirmed deaths (35 probable)
  • Somerset County: 22,480 confirmed cases (97 new), 705 confirmed deaths (105 probable)
  • Sussex County: 10,462 confirmed cases (82 new), 221 confirmed deaths (66 probable)
  • Hunterdon County: 8,019 confirmed cases (49 new), 117 confirmed deaths (54 probable)
  • Cumberland County: 13,447 confirmed cases (44 new), 375 confirmed deaths (36 probable)
  • Warren County: 7,929 confirmed cases (33 new), 204 confirmed deaths (25 probable)
  • Salem County: 4,890 confirmed cases (15 new), 158 confirmed deaths (13 probable)
  • Cape May County: 4,252 confirmed cases (12 new), 169 confirmed deaths (30 probable)

HOSPITALIZATIONS

There were 2,378 patients hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases across New Jersey’s 71 hospitals as of Wednesday night — three more than the previous night.

That included 447 in critical or intensive care (eight fewer than the night before), with 264 on ventilators (15 more).

There were also 316 COVID-19 patients discharged Wednesday.

By comparison, hospitalizations peaked at more than 8,300 patients during the first wave of the pandemic in April.

SCHOOL CASES

New Jersey has reported 221 in-school coronavirus outbreaks, which have resulted in 1,002 cases among students, teachers and school staff this academic year, according to the state’s dashboard.

The state defines school outbreaks as cases where contact tracers determined two or more students or school staff caught or transmitted COVID-19 in the classroom or during academic activities at school. Those numbers do not include students or staff believed to have been infected outside school or cases that can’t be confirmed as in-school outbreaks.

There are about 1.4 million public school students and teachers across the state, though teaching methods amid the outbreak have varied, with some schools teaching in-person, some using a hybrid format and others remaining all-remote.

Murphy last week announced most New Jersey schools can move classroom desks three feet apart, instead of six feet, under new social distancing guidelines.

The governor also said the state’s schools will return to full in-person classes for the next school year and districts will not be allowed to offer virtual learning, even for parents who want that option due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns. But Murphy clarified Tuesday that students and teachers who have health issues that could put them at greater risk of a serious coronavirus case will have a virtual option.

AGE BREAKDOWN

Broken down by age, those 30 to 49 years old make up the largest percentage of New Jersey residents who have caught the virus (30.9%), followed by those 50-64 (22.9%), 18-29 (19.8%), 65-79 (10.4%), 5-17 (9.4%), 80 and older (4.6%) and 0-4 (1.9%).

On average, the virus has been more deadly for older residents, especially those with preexisting conditions. Nearly half the state’s COVID-19 deaths have been among residents 80 and older (46.87%), followed by those 65-79 (32.89%), 50-64 (15.78%), 30-49 (4.05%), 18-29 (0.39%), 5-17 (0%) and 0-4 (0.03%).

At least 7,989 of the state’s COVID-19 deaths have been among residents and staff members at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

There are active outbreaks at 225 facilities, resulting in 3,676 active cases among residents and 4,366 among staffers. Those numbers have been slowing as vaccinations continue at the facilities.

GLOBAL NUMBERS

As of Thursday, there have been more than 133.3 million positive COVID-19 tests across the world, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. More than 2.89 million people have died from coronavirus-related complications.

The U.S. has reported the most cases, at more than 30.9 million, and the most deaths, at more than 559,200.

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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.