N.J. reports 33 COVID deaths, 1034 cases with 11 new in-school outbreaks – NJ.com

New Jersey on Wednesday reported another 33 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 1,034 cases along with 11 new in-school outbreaks that led to 57 cases among staff and students.

The state’s seven-day average for confirmed positive tests dropped to 1,143, the lowest since Aug. 6. The average is down 8% from a week ago and 36% from a month ago.

The statewide rate of transmission remained the same at 0.83 on Wednesday. Any transmission rate below 1 indicates that each infected person is passing the virus to less than one other person and the outbreak is no longer expanding.

There were 792 people hospitalized with confirmed (740) or suspected (52) coronavirus cases, though one of the state’s 71 hospitals did not provide data Tuesday night. There were 97 patients discharged in the 24 hours leading up to Tuesday night. Of those hospitalized, 196 were in intensive care, with 96 of them on ventilators.

The statewide positivity rate for tests conducted Saturday, the most recent day available, was 5.2%.

The delta variant of the virus, which is more contagious than previous variants, now represents 100% of all cases circulating, state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said last week.

New Jersey’s numbers are steadily improving, though officials have warned that weather keeps getting colder and the holiday season is approaching, which will force more people to gather indoors and could cause another bump in the numbers.

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More than 6 million people who live, work or study in New Jersey — a state of about 9.2 million residents — have now been fully vaccinated. Murphy has said more than 75% of those eligible in the state have been fully vaccinated.

More than 6.9 million people in the state have received at least one dose, and about 430,000 people have received third doses or boosters. That number is likely to go up after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced an expansion in the eligibility for COVID-19 booster shots last week.

Murphy encouraged all those eligible to make appointments for boosters and third doses. He also provided an update on breakthrough cases among the fully vaccinated.

“If you’re in your window of eligibility for your booster shot, please go get it,” Murphy said. “Get the added protection.”

In addition, the state is preparing for the expected approval of the Pfizer vaccine for kids between the ages of 5 and 11. New Jersey has 760,000 children in that age group and the state has ordered 205,000 doses of the pediatric Pfizer vaccine, which is a lower dose than for those for 12 and over.

From Oct. 4 to 10, the state had 12,633 positive tests. Of those, 2,766 were from fully vaccinated people that led to 24 hospitalizations (out of 734 total) and one death (out of 124 total).

“These numbers represent a slim minority of the total, thank god, hospitalizations and deaths reported for the week,” Murphy said.

Twelve of New Jersey’s 21 counties are listed as having “high” rates of coronavirus transmission, while seven are listed with “substantial” transmission, according to the CDC. The CDC is recommending that all people in the high and substantial transmission counties wear masks for indoor public settings regardless of vaccination status.

In Essex and Union counties where moderate transmission has been reported, the recommendation is indoor masking for those who are not vaccinated.

Through the first several weeks of the school year, districts in New Jersey have reported at least 137 in-school outbreaks, for a total of 715 cases as of Wednesday. That’s an increase of 11 outbreaks from the previous week.

“These 11 new outbreaks have been tied to 49 additional student cases and eight new cases among educators and staff,” Murphy said during a coronavirus briefing in Trenton. “This is a significant decrease from last week’s report.”

The state reported 30 new outbreaks the previous week. Every county except Burlington and Warren have reported at least one in-school outbreak. The total of 715 cases is cumulative and does not reflect active cases.

In-school outbreaks are defined as three or more cases that are determined through contact tracing to have been transmitted among staff or students while at school. They do not include total cases among staff and students.

New Jersey, an early epicenter of the pandemic, has now reported 27,929 total COVID-19 deaths since the start of the outbreak — 25,115 confirmed and 2,814 considered probable, according to the state dashboard.

The state is tied with Alabama for the second-most coronavirus deaths per capita in the U.S. as of Wednesday. Mississippi tops the list.

New Jersey has reported 1,037,478 total confirmed cases out of the more than 15.8 million PCR tests conducted since it announced its first case March 4, 2020. The state has also reported 155,723 positive antigen or rapid tests, which are considered probable cases.

At least 8,622 of the state’s COVID-19 deaths have been among residents and staff members at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to state data. There are active outbreaks at 157 facilities, resulting in 712 current cases among residents and 648 among staffers.

As of Wednesday, there have been more than 244 million positive COVID-19 cases reported across the world, according to Johns Hopkins University, with more than 4.9 million people having died due to the virus. The U.S. has reported the most cases (more than 45.6 million) and deaths (more than 739,000) of any nation.

There have been more than 6.8 billion vaccine doses administered globally.

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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @johnsb01.