The parking lot at the Red Bank train station was nearly empty Tuesday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
COVID-19 continued to claim New Jersey lives by the hundreds even as other crisis metrics signaled improvement, data released by Governor Phil Murphy’s administration Thursday showed.
With 362 fatalities added at Murphy’s latest daily briefing on the crisis, more than 1,200 have been reported since Sunday, and the number of residents testing positive for the coronavirus is still on the rise, though at a slowing rate.
Here are the latest statewide COVID-19 figures:
Deaths in the monthlong pandemic: 3,518, up 362 from Wednesday’s update
Positive tests: 75,317, up 4,391, nearly double the increase reported Wednesday
Patients in hospitals: 8,224, down 46
Patients in intensive/critical care: 1,880, down 100
Patients on ventilators: 1,645, down 60
Patients discharged in preceding 24 hours: 802, up 93
The death toll included another 23 in Monmouth County, where 190 virus fatalities have now occurred, according to the state health department’s COVID-19 online database.
Sixty-two Monmouth deaths, or nearly one-third of total in the monthlong crisis, has been reported in the last three daily updates.
The figures do not necessarily reflect single-day mortalities, as some reporting of deaths around the state may be delayed, administration officials caution.
Murphy noted “a little bit of a spike” in new positive cases as both encouraging and reason to stay on guard with social distancing measures.
“The house is still on fire,” he said. “The curve may be flattening, but we’re still going up, not coming down.”
The county’s cumulative COVID-19 case total grew to 4,299, up 177. A town-by-town count of patients is below.
State health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said more than 8,000 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from hospitals since March 31.
In addition, 82 percent of patients in intensive care/critical care were hooked up to lifesaving ventilators at last count, down from a peak last week of 97 percent, Persichilli said.
Her projections in recent weeks envisioned one ventilator per ICU patient being needed at the peak of the crisis.
Related:
• Murphy extended the mandatory closing of schools to at least May 15.
Here’s the by-town number of positive COVID-19 tests:
The breakdown by municipality is as follows:
- Aberdeen: 121
- Allenhurst: 2
- Allentown: 3
- Asbury Park: 79
- Atlantic Highlands: 16
- Avon-by-the-Sea: 9
- Belmar: 8
- Bradley Beach: 17
- Brielle: 22
- Colts Neck: 50
- Deal: 23
- Eatontown: 126
- Englishtown: 16
- Fair Haven: 17, unchanged
- Farmingdale: 10
- Freehold Borough: 135
- Freehold Township: 357
- Hazlet: 161
- Highlands: 19
- Holmdel: 145
- Howell: 386
- Interlaken: 1
- Keansburg: 70
- Keyport: 53
- Lake Como: 12
- Little Silver: 26, up 1
- Loch Arbour: 1
- Long Branch: 236
- Manalapan: 319
- Manasquan: 23
- Marlboro: 303
- Matawan: 112
- Middletown: 336
- Millstone: 51
- Monmouth Beach: 14
- Neptune City: 23
- Neptune Township: 223
- Ocean: 178
- Oceanport: 39
- Red Bank: 85, up 2
- Roosevelt: 2
- Rumson: 24
- Sea Bright: 7
- Sea Girt: 9
- Shrewsbury Borough: 25
- Shrewsbury Township: 7
- Spring Lake: 6
- Spring Lake Heights: 15
- Tinton Falls: 82
- Union Beach: 29
- Upper Freehold: 28
- Wall: 151
- West Long Branch: 48
- Unknown: 39
