N.J. coronavirus deaths increase to 11,698 with 160,445 total cases. As outbreak slows, Murphy promises more – NJ.com
Nearly three months after the state’s first coronavirus case was announced, officials on Sunday reported the death toll in New Jersey increased to at least 11,698 fatalities, with 160,445 total cases, though the state is preparing for more steps to gradually reopen from sweeping restrictions as the outbreak keeps slowing.
The latest update included 66 new deaths and 868 new positive tests reported in the last 24 hours, though officials have warned of lags in updating those numbers over the weekend.
Gov. Phil Murphy announced the numbers on Twitter and did not host a briefing on Sunday.
New Jersey, a densely populated state of 9 million residents, has the second-most deaths and cases among American states, after only New York.
During a radio interview Sunday, Murphy said Atlantic City casinos could potentially reopen, with restrictions, by the July 4 weekend. He also promised more reopening announcements Monday and hinted that nonessential businesses and outdoor dining were likely to be addressed.
“We’re going to announce a whole lot more tomorrow,” Murphy said during an appearance on the AC Mike Show with Mike Lopez on WOND. “We’ll take more steps. Small businesses have been crushed.”
Coronavirus cases, deaths, and hospitalizations have been declining in recent weeks, while the number of daily tests being administered has increased. With that, Murphy has slowly eased the near-lockdown restrictions he instituted in March to fight the spread of the virus.
The number of new deaths reported Sunday are 47 fewer than those announced Saturday, while the number of new cases are 42 fewer than those announced Saturday.
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.
As of 10 p.m. Friday, the most recent date with complete numbers available, there were 2,626 patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus infections across New Jersey’s 71 hospitals.
The state’s coronavirus hospitalizations peaked at 8,084 on April 14. Information from one hospital was missing from the state’s tracking website as of Sunday.
There have now been 32,869 coronavirus cases across 544 of the state’s longterm care facilities, such as nursing and veterans homes, according to the state’s tracking website. That includes 22,211 residents and 10,658 staff members.
That’s an increase of 250 cases from Friday.
The total includes 4,935 lab-confirmed deaths attributed to the virus at those facilities — or about 42% of the total deaths officials are reporting in the state.
That’s an increase of 24 deaths from Friday.
The deaths at longterm care facilities increase to 5,998 when fatalities suspected to be linked to COVID-19 are included. Of those, 5,892 were residents and 106 were staff members.
The total number of coronavirus cases in New Jersey is cumulative and does not reflect the likely thousands of residents who have recovered. Though it tracks daily hospitalizations, the state have not given an official total for how many people have recovered. There may also be infected residents who have yet to be tested.
The county-by-county cases and deaths include:
- Hudson County: 18,419 with 1,183 deaths
- Bergen County: 18,272 with 1,579 deaths
- Essex County: 17,629 with 1,664 deaths
- Passaic County: 16,170 with 928 deaths
- Middlesex County: 15,921 with 994 deaths
- Union County: 15,821 with 1,073 deaths
- Ocean County: 8,748 with 739 deaths
- Monmouth County: 8,219 with 597 deaths
- Mercer County: 6,933 with 472 deaths
- Camden County: 6,510 with 338 deaths
- Morris County: 6,463 with 615 deaths
- Burlington County: 4,627 with 291 deaths
- Somerset County: 4,583 with 419 deaths
- Cumberland County: 2,298 with 73 deaths
- Gloucester County: 2,234 with 147 deaths
- Atlantic County: 2,214 with 159 deaths
- Warren County: 1,160 with 131 deaths
- Sussex County: 1,110 with 149 deaths
- Hunterdon County: 993 with 60 deaths
- Salem County: 634 with 38 deaths
- Cape May County: 617 with 49 deaths
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage
Murphy announced Friday that 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 said live horse racing can return, without fans, as early as next 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.
More than 1.1 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 claims has fallen in recent weeks. Many say they’ve been waiting for weeks to get paid and have struggled with the state’s busy phone and online systems.
Meanwhile, Murphy’s administration has said it plans to cut $1.3 billion in state spending thanks to plummeting tax revenue. The governor has warned of up to 20,000 public-worker layoffs if the federal government doesn’t provide more direct aid to states.
As of early Sunday afternoon, there were more than 6.1 million positive COVID-19 tests across the world, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. Of those, more than 370,000 people have died and nearly 2.6 million have recovered.
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.