N.J. coronavirus death toll now at 15,707 after state reduces probable fatalities. Total cases climb to 177,6 – NJ.com

New Jersey’s death toll from the coronavirus now stands at 15,707 after state health officials reduced the number of probable fatalities on Wednesday, while the state’s total cases increased to 177,645 and the rate of transmission remained steady.

Officials reported 24 new confirmed deaths and 390 new cases in the Garden State.

The state’s lab-confirmed deaths now total 13,787, while probable deaths dropped by 54 to 1,920.

New Jersey first began reporting probable deaths in June. The number declined because some of the deaths became confirmed and others were found to be duplicates, officials said.

Meanwhile, Gov. Phil Murphy said a reporting issue with Quest labs tests that was disclosed on Monday continues to affect the new case numbers and that health officials are working through that backlog, which was initially estimated at 15,000 tests.

“There’s some noise in these numbers,” Murphy said Wednesday during his latest coronavirus briefing in Trenton. There is clearly some data distortion.

He added that officials are “working morning, noon, and night to get some of this resolved.”

The reporting issue and a nationwide delay in getting test results due to a surge in demand have likely affected both the new case counts and the state’s rate of transmission number this week, Murphy said. New Jersey is seeing a three to seven day delay in getting test results, officials said.

“The turnaround sucks,” Murphy said. “There’s no other way to put it. We’re not immune to the national fires raging elsewhere.”

New Jersey’s rate of transmission remains at 0.9, below the key benchmark of 1 that determines if the outbreak is spreading, though Murphy stressed the test result delays may be affecting that number.

When the number is below 1, that means each new cases is leading to less than 1 additional new case. The rate of transmission was above 5 in March, when widespread lockdown orders were issued to slow the spread.

The state’s daily positivity rate — the percentage of tests that come back positive in a single day — was 2.48% this past Saturday, the date with the most recent data available. Murphy said the testing lag also may affect that number, but officials are more confident the percentage is close to being accurate.

Wednesday marks the 14th straight day New Jersey has reported fewer than 50 new deaths in one day.

Of the 24 new deaths reported Wednesday, only one was from a fatality in July. The rest were from previous months, Murphy said.

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N.J. Department of Health

There were 873 people being treated for confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases at New Jersey’s hospitals Tuesday night, though two of the 71 hospitals failed to report numbers, according to the state’s coronavirus dashboard. That’s up rom 833 on Monday, though down significantly down from the state’s peak in mid-April, when there were more than 8,000 patients.

Of those hospitalized Tuesday, 423 tested positive for COVID-19, while 450 were under investigation and pending test results.

Meanwhile, 151 of the total coronavirus patients were in critical or intensive care and 77 were on ventilators. There were 69 coronavirus patients discharged from hospitals Tuesday.

“Overall, our hospitals trends continue in the right direction, but we know we are not out of the woods yet, and we still must remain vigilant so we do not experience a rebound of COVID-19,” Murphy said.

The governor continued to urge residents, particularly young people who may be asymptomatic, to get tested.

“As we have said before, getting tested gives you peace of mind that you are not unknowingly carrying this virus and can spread it among your family and friends,” he said. “And getting tested also gives us the data we need to be able to stamp out flareups, and to better guide our restart and recovery.”

New Jersey, a densely populated state of 9 million residents, ranks second among U.S. states in total COVID-19 deaths and fifth in total cases.

Nearly 50% of New Jersey’s COVID-19 deaths have been residents or staff members of nursing homes and other longterm care facilities. There have now been 6,852 lab-confirmed deaths at those facilities, according to the state’s tracking website.

More than 31,700 residents in the state have recovered from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.

There have now been more than 1.84 million COVID-19 tests administered in the state.

COUNTY-BY-COUNTY NUMBERS

  • Bergen County: 20,099 cases (30 new), 1,768 confirmed deaths (263 probable)
  • Hudson County: 19,281 cases (14 new), 1,316 confirmed deaths (175 probable)
  • Essex County: 19,173 cases (23 new), 1,842 confirmed deaths (247 probable)
  • Middlesex County: 17,379 cases (26 new), 1,180 confirmed deaths (212 probable)
  • Passaic County: 17,196 cases (17 new), 1,082 confirmed deaths (156 probable)
  • Union County: 16,351 cases (31 new), 1,167 confirmed deaths (175 probable)
  • Ocean County: 10,054 cases (63 new), 941 confirmed deaths (70 probable)
  • Monmouth County: 9,720 cases (36 new), 751 confirmed deaths (100 probable)
  • Camden County: 7,888 cases (23 new), 508 confirmed deaths (55 probable)
  • Mercer County: 7,858 cases (15 new), 565 confirmed deaths (43 probable)
  • Morris County: 7,010 cases (19 new), 672 confirmed deaths (153 probable)
  • Burlington County: 5,490 cases (12 new), 426 confirmed deaths (41 probable)
  • Somerset County: 5,082 cases (9 new), 472 confirmed deaths (78 probable)
  • Atlantic County: 3,161 cases (12 new), 225 confirmed deaths (15 probable)
  • Cumberland County: 3,095 cases (7 new), 141 confirmed deaths (13 probable)
  • Gloucester County: 2,870 cases (15 new), 192 confirmed deaths (7 probable)
  • Warren County: 1,295 cases (6 new), 155 confirmed deaths (14 probable)
  • Sussex County: 1,256 cases (3 new), 158 confirmed deaths (37 probable)
  • Hunterdon County: 1,102 cases (1 new), 70 confirmed deaths (56 probable)
  • Salem County: 841 cases (4 new), 76 confirmed deaths (5 probable)
  • Cape May County: 762 cases (2 new), 80 confirmed deaths (5 probable)

There are another 682 positive cases that remain under investigation, with the patients’ home counties not confirmed.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

An early coronavirus hotspot, New Jersey has seen its number of new cases, deaths, and hospitalizations per day drop dramatically and remain relatively in check for weeks. The Garden State had a one-day peak high of 460 deaths on April 30, a peak high of 4,305 new cases on April 3.

Meanwhile, numerous other states have seen new cases and hospitalizations surge in recent weeks. There were more than 1,000 new coronavirus deaths reported across the country Tuesday.

To protect the state, Murphy is now calling on travelers from 31 states that qualify as coronavirus hotspots to voluntarily self-quarantine for 14 days upon arriving in New Jersey.

The total number of coronavirus cases in New Jersey is cumulative and does not reflect the thousands of residents who have recovered.

Officials say increases in new deaths and positive tests may produce total figures that don’t match the previous day’s numbers because the state is constantly investigating and re-evaluating cases.

Though Murphy has gradually peeled back restrictions and businesses closings in recent months, New Jersey remains in Stage 2 of its reopening plan. The governor paused the plan earlier this month after the transmission rate increased over 1 for the first time in months. That means gyms, movie theaters, indoor dining at bars and restaurants, and more remain closed.

More than 1.4 million New Jersey residents have filed for unemployment benefits since social distancing began in mid-March.

The debate over whether to reopen schools in the fall rages. Murphy has said the goal is to send New Jersey students back to in-person classes, though he has hinted that could change.

The governor announced Monday that parents will have the option of having their children learn fully remote. That plan is expected to be detailed later this week.

As of Wednesday afternoon, there have been more than 15 million positive tests for COVID-19 across the world, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. Of those, more than 618,900 have died, while more than 8.5 million have recovered.

There have been more than 142,500 deaths in the United States, by far the most in the world.

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