NEWARK (1010 WINS) – Gov. Phil Murphy said Saturday that the state is "flattening the curve" of coronavirus cases even as he reported another 231 deaths from the virus, bringing the statewide total to over 4,000.
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"Sadly, we've lost another 231 members of our New Jersey family," Murphy said. "We've now lost a total of 4,070 blessed souls."
Murphy said there were 3,026 more cases reported. The statewide total is now 81,420.
There are currently 7,718 people hospitalized and 2,024 people requiring critical or intensive care.
But he said the rate of growth in new cases over the past three weeks is slowing and that "we are flattening the curve."
"This is a credit to each and every one of you who has taken to heart our aggressive social distancing measures and who continues to do your part," Murphy said.
He said the slowing in the rate of cases has led to a slowing in the rate of hospitalizations.
"Over the past three weeks, we've been able to move these lines closer together to the point where we are now reporting more people leaving the hospital than entering," Murphy said.
Murphy said the progress being made is undeniable but that New Jerseyans but continue to practice social distancing and follow stay-at-home orders to keep the numbers going in the right direction.
"If we let our guard down right now, we would literally see it right now," Murphy said of a rise in cases. "So we're not out of the woods yet."
New Jersey's health commissioner said Friday she is "cautiously optimistic" that the COVID-19 outbreak is leveling off.
Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli expects the rest of April and early May to be very busy for hospitals, but that models indicate a dip in the curve could come after that, she said at a news conference in Trenton with Murphy.
"We're cautiously optimistic, hopefully optimistic that we're leveling off," Persichilli said.
The northern part of the state, which has been very hard hit, has likely seen its peak, but the central and southern parts of the state have yet to.
Despite the optimism, Murphy said, it's no time to relent on social distancing.
The state also saw 323 more deaths from the virus, putting the toll at 3,840 people total. More than 78,000 people have tested positive, up from about 75,000 the previous day, according to officials.
The death toll, while still going up, is a lagging indicator, said Dr. Christina Tan, the state epidemiologist.
Murphy described a Thursday call with the White House focused on restarting the economy as "good" and "decent." He wants to see the state's curve come down and more testing be put in place before businesses and schools reopen, he said.
He did not give a timeline for when the stay-at-home order would lift, and he urged people to continue keeping their distance.
"This is going in the right direction," he said. "Let's not let our guards down, or all bets are off."
Nursing homes continue to face an onslaught from the virus.
Nearly every nursing home in the state has at least one case, with 1,530 of the deaths from COVID-19 coming from residents at these facilities, Persichilli said.
The development came a day after news came out about the discovery of 18 bodies stored in a "makeshift morgue" at the state's largest nursing home. Murphy has asked the state attorney general to investigate, and health department and federal health officials are also surveying the facility in Sussex County.
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