NEWARK (1010 WINS) -- Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday that the number of coronavirus cases in the state rose by over 3,000 Friday to more than 54,000 as the death toll climbed to over 1,900.
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Murphy said 3,627 more positive tests were confirmed overnight Thursday, bringing the statewide total to 54,588.
Of those with the illness, 7,570 residents were hospitalized; 1,679 were in intensive care; and 1,663 were on ventilators.
Murphy said the death toll rose by 233 to 1,932 overnight.
Murphy said among those who died was Sam McGhee, who was the first African American elected to serve as mayor of Hillside.
The governor also said he was signing an executive order allowing certain low-risk inmates to be placed on temporary home confinement or granted parole if already eligible through an expedited process.
Murphy said low-risk inmates include those whose current age or health status puts them at a higher risk for the coronavirus, those who had been denied parole within the last year, or those whose sentences are to expire within the next three months.
Murphy said no one convicted of a serious crime—such as murder, or sexual assault, among others—will be eligible for consideration and that people on home confinement will still be subject to Department of Corrections supervision.
"Social distancing is extremely hard to accomplish in a prison setting," Murphy said. "Allowing some of our most vulnerable individuals who do not pose a public safety threat to temporarily leave prison will protect both their health and the health of those working in our correctional facilities."
Despite New Jersey's death toll roughly doubling the number of people from the state who died on 9/11, Murphy said the data are beginning to show "there's light here."
Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli pointed specifically to the time it takes hospitalizations to double. That figure went from 12.4 days to 14.6 days to 28.8 days this week, a sign that means it's taking longer for the number of people in hospitals due to COVID-19 to double.
For the first time Thursday, New Jersey reported detailed data on hospitalizations.
More than 7,000 people were in hospitals, with about 1,500 people on ventilators and another roughly 1,500 people in intensive care units. About 500 people have been discharged from hospitals, according to the governor.
Murphy also said Thursday he will sign an executive order to extend the grace period for paying insurance premiums.
For health and dental insurance, the grace period will be 60. Renters, home, auto and life insurance policies will have a 90-day grace period.
Insurers can't demand payment of premiums in a lump sum after grace period ends, but payments will have to be "smoothed out" over the life of your premium payments, according to the governor.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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