New Jersey on Friday reported another 1,945 confirmed COVID-19 cases and six additional confirmed deaths as Burlington and Cumberland counties ascended to the “high risk” category for coronavirus transmission.
The state’s seven-day average for confirmed coronavirus positive dropped slightly to 1,686 — a 2% decrease from a week ago and a 4% increase from a month ago.
The rate of transmission was 1.14 on Friday, down from 1.16 on Thursday, but up from 1.04 last week. When the transmission rate is 1, that means cases have leveled off at the current numbers, while anything above 1 indicates the outbreak is expanding.
Burlington and Cumberland are the only two counties in the “high risk” category for coronavirus transmission.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deems nine counties to be at “medium” risk: Atlantic, Bergen, Camden, Cape May, Gloucester, Monmouth, Ocean, Salem and Union. The remaining 10 counties — Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Warren — are designated “low” risk, according to the CDC.
There were 888 patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases reported across 68 of the state’s 71 hospitals as of Friday. Of those hospitalized, 118 are in intensive care and 34 are on ventilators.
The statewide positivity rate for tests conducted Sunday, the most recent day for which data is available, was 13.95%.
The CDC considers positivity rates above 10% to be “high.” The positivity rate is substantially lower than its peak of 40.83% on Jan. 1 during the height of the omicron variant.
TOTAL NUMBERS
New Jersey has reported 2.3 million total confirmed COVID-19 cases since the state reported its first known case March 4, 2020.
The Garden State has also recorded 416,163 positive antigen or rapid tests, which are considered probable cases. There are also numerous cases that likely never have been counted, including at-home positive tests that are not included in the state’s numbers.
The state of 9.2 million residents has reported 34,744 COVID-19 deaths — 31,630 confirmed fatalities and 3,114 probable ones.
New Jersey has the ninth-most coronavirus deaths per capita in the U.S. — behind Mississippi, Arizona, Oklahoma, Alabama, West Virginia, New Mexico, Tennessee and Arkansas — as of the latest data reported on Sept. 12. Last summer, the state had the most deaths per capita in the nation.
VACCINATION NUMBERS
More than 7.06 million people who work, live or study in the Garden State have reached fully vaccinated status. More than 7.9 million have received a first dose since vaccinations began in the state on Dec. 15, 2020.
More than 4.29 million people in the state eligible for boosters have received one.
LONG-TERM CARE NUMBERS
At least 9,714 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 the most recent data.
Of the active outbreaks at 362 facilities, there are 7,476 current cases among residents and 6,945 cases among staff, as of the latest data.
GLOBAL NUMBERS
There have been more than 617 million COVID-19 cases reported across the globe as of Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus database. More than 6.5 million people have died because of the virus, the data shows.
The U.S. has reported the most cumulative cases (more than 96 million) and deaths (at least 1.05 million) of any nation.
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Jackie Roman may be reached at jroman@njadvancemedia.com.
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