N.J. coronavirus deaths rise to 8952 with 135454 total cases. Officials report 162 new deaths, including 4-year-old child. – NJ.com

A little more than nine weeks into the state’s outbreak, the death toll from the coronavirus rose to at least 8,952 residents Friday, with officials reporting the state has seen at least 135,454 cases overall.

Officials announced another 162 deaths attributed to COVID-19 — including a 4-year-old child — and 1,985 new positive tests in New Jersey, home to the second-most fatalities and cases among American states.

Gov. Phil Murphy said cases and hospitalizations from the virus continue to drop, a trend that has been notable during the past few days. But to keep the downward curve continuing, Murphy has been urging residents to continue practicing social distancing.

“We’re making huge progress, but we’re not in the end zone yet,” Murphy said.

“The data from our hospitals continue to move in the right direction — down,” the governor said during his afternoon press briefing Friday. “But, we also cannot overstate enough that even while we are pleased with this progress, our hospital systems are dealing with far more patients than they would be otherwise in any other year, and the stress on our health care system, while certainly lessening, is still there. Only we have the power to push these numbers down further.”

As of 10 p.m. Thursday, the latest available data, 4,764 patients with the coronavirus or under investigation for it were in New Jersey’s hospitals. Murphy said this is a decrease of 1,000 from last Friday.

Of the current patients, 1,439 were in critical or intensive care and 1,089 were on ventilators — both of which are declines, Murphy said. There were 334 new COVID-19 hospitalizations Thursday, while 464 patients were discharged. That does not include deaths.

Since the outbreak began, about half of New Jersey’s confirmed coronavirus deaths have been at longterm care facilities, such as nursing homes and veterans homes.

CHILD AMONG THE LATEST VICTIMS

State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli revealed that a 4-year-old child in New Jersey has died from the coronavirus. The child is the youngest victim of COVID-19 in the state and the first one under the age of 18.

Persichilli said the child had an underlying medical condition. “In order to protect privacy of the child, we will not release further details,” she added. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.”

“We’ve lost another blessed life,” Murphy said. “It’s unfathomable it’s a 4-year-old.”

Prior to the child’s death, the age breakdown of New Jersey’s fatal coronavirus cases has been:

  • 29 victims ages 18 to 29
  • 330 victims ages 30 to 49
  • 1,155 victims ages 50 to 64
  • 2,369 victims ages 65 to 79
  • 3,340 victims ages 80 and older

ALSO: Town-by-town breakdowns of coronavirus cases and deaths across N.J.

RECOVERY PLANS AND TESTING CHANGES

During his press briefing Friday, Murphy also announced:

  • He is signing an executive order to create the Governor’s Restart and Recovery Advisory Council. “This council will bring together leaders from various industry, community, and faith-based groups and institutions across our state — quite literally, hundreds of people — to work in conjunction with the Restart and Recovery Commission I named last week,” Murphy said.
  • The coronavirus field center at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus will close over the weekend. Patients are being transferred to the alternative care site at East Orange General Hospital. Items and supplies will be placed in storage for rapid deployment elsewhere as needed.
  • The state-run coronavirus testing sites at Bergen Community College in Paramus and the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel will now test asymptomatic people. They previously accepted only people showing symptoms of the coronavirus.

“We ask asymptomatic individuals to try and contact a health care provider before seeking testing, as it is critical that testing is available for our front-line workers and vulnerable populations,” Murphy said. “To that effect, where resources are strained, testing will be prioritized for asymptomatic health care workers and first responders, personnel in congregate living settings, and New Jersey residents who have been in close contact with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19.”

Referring to the closure of the Secaucus field center, the governor said, “This is no sign we can or will relax our vigilance. It is a sign the work we’ve been doing to slow the spread of COVID-19 and reduce the number of patients in our hospitals is working.”

The state’s economy has also suffered during the outbreak, with more than 1 million residents having filed for unemployment since social distancing and business closings began in late March. Meanwhile, businesses has suffered untold revenue losses.

Despite pressure from some lawmakers, businesses and residents, Murphy has said the state can’t rush reopening because that would risk cases, deaths and hospitalizations rising again.

The governor has formed a commission to plot a strategy but has not given a definitive timeline. He has said the state must meet conditions for a broader reopening — including cases and hospitalizations dropping for 14 straight days, as well as officials expanding testing and installing contact tracing and isolations programs.

But Murphy has allowed parks and golf courses to reopen in New Jersey, with social-distancing restrictions. And with Memorial Day less than three weeks away, he said he may soon allow beaches to reopen, with similar guidelines.

Murphy also said he may allow non-essential construction and elective surgeries to resume, while also allowing some nonessential businesses to offer curbside service.

As of early Friday afternoon, more than nearly 3.9 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 across the world, according to a running tally from Johns Hopkins University. Of those, more than 270,500 have died — including 76,000 in the United States.

Of the 75,560 coronavirus deaths in the U.S., more than 26,000 have occurred in New York state and more than 8,900 have occurred in New Jersey.

The total number of coronavirus cases in New Jersey is cumulative and does not reflect the likely thousands of residents who have recovered from COVID-19, officials note.

It’s difficult to know exactly how much the virus has spread because state-run sites are testing only symptomatic residents, results have lagged for days, and the state has not yet reported significant increases in daily testing.

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN EACH COUNTY

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

  • Bergen County: 16,709 cases, with 1,329 deaths
  • Hudson County: 16,520 cases, with 940 deaths
  • Essex County: 15,256 cases, with 1,398 deaths
  • Passaic County: 14,280 cases, with 715 deaths
  • Union County: 13,917 cases, with 844 deaths
  • Middlesex County: 13,617 cases, with 748 deaths
  • Ocean County: 7,277 cases, with 516 deaths
  • Monmouth County: 6,752 cases, with 429 deaths
  • Morris County: 5,767 cases, with 506 deaths
  • Mercer County: 5,111 cases, with 322 deaths
  • Camden County: 4,619 cases, with 199 deaths
  • Somerset County: 3,968 cases, with 328 deaths
  • Burlington County: 3,431 cases, with 190 deaths
  • Gloucester County: 1,593 cases, with 72 deaths
  • Atlantic County: 1,423 cases, with 68 deaths
  • Cumberland County: 1,124 cases, with 28 deaths
  • Warren County: 1,034 cases, with 101 deaths
  • Sussex County: 1,015 cases, with 125 deaths
  • Hunterdon County: 701 cases, with 44 deaths
  • Cape May County: 424 cases, with 31 deaths
  • Salem County: 363 cases, with 18 deaths

There are another 553 positive cases and one death that are still under investigation to determine where the infected people reside.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

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

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