N.J. coronavirus death toll rises to 12,049 with 163,336 total cases, as infection rate continues to slow – NJ.com

New Jersey’s death toll from the coronavirus grew to 12,049 known fatalities on Friday, as officials reported there have now been at least 163,336 cases statewide, though they stress they’re still on pace to keep gradually reopening the economy as the outbreak continues to slow three months after the state’s first case was announced.

Officials announced 79 new deaths attributed to COVID-19 and 864 new positive tests among the 9 million residents of the state, home to the nation’s second-largest outbreak.

But nearly 11 weeks after Gov. Phil Murphy installed a sweeping stay-at-home order, those numbers are down significantly from where they were about a month ago. 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.

Murphy said the state’s total number of hospitalized coronavirus patients is down 70% since peaking at more than 8,000 in mid-April. The number below 2,000 this week for the first time in more than two months. He also said new hospitalized patients are down 90% and ventilator use is down almost 75%.

“This means our hospitals are no longer bowing under the strain of COVID-19, and are better prepared for the days to come,” Murphy said during his daily coronavirus briefing in Trenton.

The governor did announce late Thursday night he’s extending the public-health emergency he declared in March by another 30 days. This keeps Murphy’s remaining executive orders to fight the virus intact. But, he emphasized, this doesn’t mean the state is stopping its plans to enter Stage 2 of its multi-phase reopening plan June 15.

“What this does mean is that we will have the authority to remain vigilant and prepared to act should there be a new outbreak of COVID-19,” Murphy said. “Nothing more, nothing less.”

Meanwhile, Murphy continues to point to how a new metric, the rate of coronavirus retransmission, remains below 1 — meaning every infected person spreads it to fewer than one other person.

He thanked residents for doing their part but, once again, asked them to continue wearing face coverings and practicing social distancing as he incrementally lifts some of his lockdown orders.

“For all that New Jersey has done, each and every one of you, to beat the crap out of this virus and to drive the numbers down, we say, ‘Thank you,'” Murphy said. “You have our unending respect. The favor is: You’ve got to please continue to do it.”

Friday’s briefing comes two weeks after he allowed beaches, boardwalks, and lakes to be open with restrictions. But Murphy said because poor weather likely caused thinner crowds the first weekend, it’s still too soon to determine if that caused any significant spikes in cases.

“The health data continue to look good right now,” the governor said.

MOTOR VEHICLE OFFICES REOPENING

In his latest reopening announcement, Murphy said the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission agencies, which have been closed since March 16, 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 19.

Customers will be required to wear face coverings and practice social distancing.

The governor said he expects to make an announcement Monday on the reopening of pools, both municipal and private.

HOSPITAL TRENDS

Officials said there were at 1,933 coronavirus patients reported across New Jersey’s 71 hospitals as of 10 p.m. Thursday — a drop of 49 from Wednesday night.

Of those, 514 patients were in critical or intensive care, while 410 were on ventilators. The former is a drop of 23 patients from Wednesday, while the latter is an increase of four patients.

Officials reported there were 192 new coronavirus patients admitted to New Jersey hospitals Thursday, while 204 were discharged.

LONGTERM CARE NUMBERS

There have now been 34,094 coronavirus cases across 547 of the state’s longterm care facilities, such as nursing and veterans homes, according to the state’s tracking website. That includes 22,811 residents and 11,220 staff members.

That’s 137 more new cases than were reported Thursday.

The total includes 5,182 lab-confirmed deaths attributed to the virus at those facilities — about 43% of the state’s total COVID-19-related deaths.

That’s 54 more new deaths than were reported Thursday.

The deaths at longterm care facilities increase to 6,200 when fatalities suspected to be linked to COVID-19 are included. Of those, 6,091 were residents and 109 were staff members.

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN EACH COUNTY

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

  • Hudson County: 18,518 cases, with 1,205 deaths
  • Bergen County: 18,463 cases, with 1,611 deaths
  • Essex County: 18,019 cases, with 1,702 deaths
  • Passaic County: 16,387 cases, with 957 deaths
  • Middlesex County: 16,137 cases, with 1,025 deaths
  • Union County: 16,038 cases, with 1,092 deaths
  • Ocean County: 8,954 cases, with 765 deaths
  • Monmouth County: 8,428 cases, with 630 deaths
  • Mercer County: 7,120 cases, with 499 deaths
  • Camden County: 6,732 cases, with 357 deaths
  • Morris County: 6,572 cases, with 625 deaths
  • Burlington County: 4,746 cases, with 311 deaths
  • Somerset County: 4,651 cases, with 424 deaths
  • Cumberland County: 2,531 cases, with 86 deaths
  • Gloucester County: 2,310 cases, with 151 deaths
  • Atlantic County: 2,309 cases, with 167 deaths
  • Warren County: 1,189 cases, with 132 deaths
  • Sussex County: 1,130 cases, with 149 deaths
  • Hunterdon County: 1,015 cases, with 62 deaths
  • Salem County: 665 cases, with 49 deaths
  • Cape May County: 637 cases, with 50 deaths

There are another 785 positive cases that remain under investigation, with the patients’ home counties not confirmed.

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.

At least 918,891 have been tested in New Jersey so far, an increase of about 22,000 in the last 24 hours.

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 RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

In addition to allowing parks and beaches to reopen, Murphy has also increased the limit on outdoor gatherings to 25. Indoor gatherings remain capped at 10.

Earlier this week, Murphy announced he will allow outdoor dining and non-essential retail stores to welcome customers inside at reduced capacity starting June 22 as Stage 2 of reopening begins. Hair salons and barbershops will follow 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.

Some restaurants and lawmakers have called on him to reopen the state sooner, including allowing outdoor dining to start on a Friday, rather than a Monday, to allow eateries to take advantage of an influx of customers over a weekend.

Murphy said Friday “we put a date in that we felt was the most responsible and also gave them the runway to get their staffing and protocols in place.”

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.

The governor 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.

Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com.