New Jersey health officials on Wednesday reported another 580 COVID-19 cases and nine new confirmed deaths. The seven-day average for confirmed positive cases hit an 11-month low this week as positive tests counts continue to decline.
The state’s seven-day average for confirmed positive tests is 829 — down 17% from a week ago and down 45% from a month ago. This is the lowest average since March 27, 2022, when the seven-day average for confirmed positive cases was 828.
The statewide rate of transmission is 0.81, down from 0.95 on Tuesday. A transmission rate of 1 means the number of cases have leveled off, while anything below 1 means the outbreak is declining.
The CDC considers 13 counties in the state to have “medium” community levels of the coronavirus. Eight counties — Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Passaic, Somerset and Union — have “low” community levels. Case counts and hospitalization numbers by region determine each county’s community level, according to the CDC.
There were 875 patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases reported across 68 of the state’s 70 hospitals Tuesday night. Of those hospitalized, 106 are in intensive care and 35 are on ventilators.
The statewide positivity rate for tests conducted Saturday, the most recent day for which data is available, was 7.49%.
TOTAL NUMBERS
New Jersey has reported more than 2.5 million total confirmed COVID-19 cases since it announced its first known case of the virus on March 4, 2020.
The Garden State has also recorded 495,889 positive antigen or rapid tests, which are considered probable cases. There are also numerous cases that were likely never counted, including at-home positive tests that are not included in the state’s numbers.
The state of 9.2 million residents has reported 35,940 COVID-19 deaths — 32,824 confirmed fatalities and 3,116 probable ones.
New Jersey has the 10th-most coronavirus deaths per capita in the U.S. as of Feb. 2.
VACCINATION NUMBERS
More than 7.1 million people who work, live or study in New Jersey have reached fully vaccinated status. More than 8 million people have received a first dose since vaccinations began in the state on Dec. 15, 2020.
More than 4.3 million people in the state eligible for boosters have received one.
LONG-TERM CARE NUMBERS
At least 10,075 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 state data.
Of the active outbreaks at 364 facilities, there are 11,656 current cases among residents and 7,392 cases among staff, according to the latest data.
GLOBAL NUMBERS
There have been more than 674 million COVID-19 cases reported across the globe, according to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus database.
More than 6.8 million people have died because of the virus, the data shows. The U.S. has reported the most cumulative cases (more than 103 million) and deaths (at least 1.1 million) of any nation.
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Camille Furst may be reached at [email protected].