NJ reports 20 COVID deaths, 1,554 cases. Hospitalizations continue to decline. – NJ.com

New Jersey on Thursday reported another 20 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 1,554 cases, as hospitalizations decreased and vaccination rates continued to climb.

The state’s seven-day average for confirmed positive tests is now 1,149, down 9% from a week ago and 36% from a month ago.

The statewide rate of transmission ticked up to 0.85 from 0.83 on Wednesday. However, the rate of transmission remains well below the key benchmark of 1 that suggests the spread of COVID-19 is slowing. 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.

“The numbers are going in the right direction, but we’re not out of the woods yet,” Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday afternoon at his latest coronavirus briefing in Trenton.

There were 745 people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases across 70 of New Jersey’s 71 hospitals as of Wednesday night. One hospital did not report data. Hospitalizations fell below 800 on Tuesday night after hovering around that number for more than a week.

There were 115 patients discharged in the 24 hours leading up to Wednesday night. Of those hospitalized, 182 were in intensive care, with 97 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 has said.

Though New Jersey’s numbers are steadily improving, officials have warned that weather keeps getting colder and the holiday season is approaching. That will likely 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 482,560 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.

During Wednesday’s briefing, Murphy encouraged all those eligible to make appointments for boosters and third doses.

“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.

Murphy on Wednesday also updated the state’s breakthrough numbers. 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,” the governor 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 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 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 27,949 total COVID-19 deaths since the start of the outbreak — 25,135 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 Tuesday. Mississippi tops the list.

New Jersey has reported 1,039,007 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 156,159 positive antigen or rapid tests, which are considered probable cases.

At least 8,627 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 152 facilities, resulting in 703 current cases among residents and 627 among staffers.

As of Thursday, there have been more than 245 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 45.7 million) and deaths (more than 741,000) of any nation.

There have been more than 6.9 billion vaccine doses administered globally.

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