N.J. coronavirus death toll increase to 12,106 with 163,893 total cases, though outbreak keeps slowing – NJ.com

Eleven weeks since Gov. Phil Murphy put New Jerseyans under stay-at-home orders to fight the pandemic, officials announced 60 new deaths attributed to the coronavirus and 606 new positive tests in the state, though the outbreak continues to diminish.

The Garden State has now reported 12,106 known deaths related to COVID-19, with 163,893 known cases, since its first positive test was announced March 4. Only New York has more deaths and cases among U.S. states.

Total hospitalizations also dropped again, though the number of patients in intensive care grew slightly.

Murphy announced the new numbers on Twitter.

Overall, the number of new coronavirus deaths, cases, and hospitalizations are down dramatically since peaking in April. And Murphy has gradually peeled back his restrictions, with the state set to enter Stage 2 of its multiphase reopening June 15, when restaurants will be allowed to offer outdoor dining and nonessential retail will be permitted to welcome customers back inside, though at half capacity.

Saturday’s number of new deaths is 19 fewer than those announced Friday and the number of new cases is 258 fewer than those announced Friday. But officials have cautioned that numbers announced over the weekend may be incomplete because of lagging test results.

New Jersey hit a one-day high in deaths — 460 — on April 30 and a one-day high in new cases — 4,391 — on April 16.

In recent days, Murphy has also touted that the rate of coronavirus retransmission in New Jersey remains below 1 — meaning every infected person spreads it to fewer than one other person.

HOSPITAL TRENDS

Officials said there were at 1,882 coronavirus patients reported across New Jersey’s 71 hospitals as of 10 p.m. Friday — a drop of 51 from Thursday night, according to the state’s tracking website.

Of those, 539 patients were in critical or intensive care, while 385 were on ventilators. The former is an increase of 25 patients from Wednesday, while the latter is a decrease of 25 patients.

Officials reported there were 208 new coronavirus patients discharged in the state on Friday.

LONGTERM CARE NUMBERS

There have now been 34,261 coronavirus cases across 548 of the state’s longterm care facilities, such as nursing and veterans homes, according to the tracking website. That includes 22,872 residents and 11,389 staff members.

That’s 167 more new cases than were reported Friday.

The total includes 5,244 lab-confirmed deaths attributed to the virus at those facilities — about 43% of the state’s total COVID-19-related deaths.

That’s 62 more new deaths than were reported Friday.

The deaths at longterm care facilities increase to 6,239 when fatalities suspected to be linked to COVID-19 are included. Of those, 6,131 were residents and 108 were staff members.

EXPLAINING THE TOTAL CASES

The total number of coronavirus cases in New Jersey is cumulative and does not reflect the likely thousands of residents who have recovered. There may also be infected residents who have yet to be tested, though the state has more than doubled the daily tests being administered in recent weeks.

Nearly 80% of the deaths in New Jersey have been of residents 65 and older, officials said. Only 49 people under 30 have suffered COVID-19-related deaths.

CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS IN EACH COUNTY

Here are the latest county-by-county breakdowns of confirmed cases and fatalities as of early Saturday afternoon, according to the state’s tracking website:

  • Hudson County: 18,548 cases, with 1,210 deaths
  • Bergen County: 18,492 cases, with 1,612 deaths
  • Essex County: 18,066 cases, with 1,701 deaths
  • Passaic County: 16,436 cases, with 969 deaths
  • Middlesex County: 16,203 cases, with 1,032 deaths
  • Union County: 16,116 cases, with 1,095 deaths
  • Ocean County: 8,979 cases, with 767 deaths
  • Monmouth County: 8,456 cases, with 636 deaths
  • Mercer County: 7,148 cases, with 500 deaths
  • Camden County: 6,785 cases, with 364 deaths
  • Morris County: 6,584 cases, with 626 deaths
  • Burlington County: 4,769 cases, with 314 deaths
  • Somerset County: 4,664 cases, with 425 deaths
  • Cumberland County: 2,557 cases, with 90 deaths
  • Atlantic County: 2,330 cases, with 167 deaths
  • Gloucester County: 2,319 cases, with 152 deaths
  • Warren County: 1,190 cases, with 132 deaths
  • Sussex County: 1,136 cases, with 149 deaths
  • Hunterdon County: 1,022 cases, with 63 deaths
  • Salem County: 670 cases, with 52 deaths
  • Cape May County: 6343 cases, with 50 deaths

There are another 782 positive cases that remain under investigation, with the patients’ home counties not confirmed.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

Murphy has already allowed parks, beaches, boardwalks, and lakes to reopen in New Jersey. And he has increased the limit on outdoor gatherings to 25. Indoor gatherings remain capped at 10.

On Friday, Murphy announced the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission agencies will offer a variety of pickup and drop-off services beginning June 15 and will start offering behind-the-wheel road tests and issuing new licenses and permits June 29.

As part of the Stage 2 reopening plans, hair salons and barber shops will reopen with restrictions June 22. Gyms, libraries, museums and some government offices are also expected to reopen during the stage, though there is no specific timeline yet for those.

Meanwhile, child daycare centers in New Jersey can reopen June 15, outdoor, non-contact organized sports can resume June 22, and youth day camps can operate beginning July 6, all with restrictions.

Murphy also said live horse racing can return, without fans, as early as this weekend. And he said the state is hoping to allow larger indoor gatherings, including those at churches and other houses of worship, by the weekend of June 12.

Nearly 1.2 million New Jersey residents have filed for unemployment since aggressive social distancing started in mid-March, causing the state’s unemployment rate to surge to 15.3%, though the number of new claims has fallen in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the state Assembly on Thursday passed Murphy’s plan for the state government to make up for massive losses in tax revenue by allowing up to $14 billion in borrowing.

As of Friday morning, more than 6.6 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 across the globe, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. Of those, more than 392,000 have died and more than 2.8 million have recovered.

ALSO: New charts show town-by-town breakdowns of coronavirus cases and deaths across N.J.

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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.