New Jersey on Friday reported another 4,100 new coronavirus cases and 19 more deaths, as Gov. Phil Murphy warned that the state was still in the midst of the pandemic and urged residents to comply with regulations.
While the number of new cases rose above 4,000 during 10 of the past 14 days, the number of people hospitalized dropped slightly for the second day in a row and the transmission rate that monitors the spread of the virus also dropped Thursday from 1, 21 to 1.18.
But any number above one means the virus is spreading in the state, plus New Jersey’s seven-day moving average is 4,199, the highest to date. The moving average increased 7.9% from last week and 213% from last month.
Although the seven-day average of cases is higher than the first wave of the pandemic, the comparison may be inaccurate because the state conducted fewer than 12,000 tests per day in the spring. New Jersey now performs an average of about 45,000 tests per day, which does not include the rapid tests implemented in recent months.
Murphy said that 15 of New Jersey’s 21 counties reported at least 100 new cases and Bergen recorded the highest sum with 535 positive tests.
The latest figures were reported a day after Thanksgiving, when Murphy urged families not to get together to avoid spreading the virus.
The president announced Wednesday that New Jersey stopped implementing the state-by-state travel restriction it has used for the past five months along with New York and other neighboring states, as virtually the entire country is on the list. Instead, Murphy said anyone traveling to places other than neighboring states should adhere to a 14-day quarantine.
While the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine could arrive in New Jersey by Christmas, vulnerable residents and healthcare workers will be the priority, while the rest of the population will have to wait until April or May.
Still, Murphy warned that the next few months will be “excruciating” due to the winter break. The governor does not rule out another state shutdown like the one in the spring of not containing the health crisis as before.
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