NEWARK (1010 WINS) – Gov. Phil Murphy said Sunday that the number of coronavirus deaths in New Jersey had surpassed 10,300 as the state reported more than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 and residents began flocking to beaches along the Jersey Shore.
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Murphy said another 107 deaths were reported across the state from Saturday to Sunday, bringing the state's death toll to 10,356.
The governor said there were another 1,272 new cases of the virus since Saturday. The total number of cases reported in the state is now 146,334.
Murphy said that of those cases, 3,411 people are hospitalized, with 1,030 of them in critical or intensive care and 819 of them on ventilators.
Thousands of residents were already heading to beaches in the state this weekend. Beaches along the shore have been opening at different times and with different restrictions, but all of them are at a minimum preventing group activities like sports to encourage social distancing.
Murphy said Saturday that fishing charters and other chartered-boat services, as well as watercraft rentals, can resume in New Jersey starting Sunday morning.
The governor said the order took effect at 6 a.m. Sunday and requires that the businesses follow social distancing and sanitation measures.
"Our charter boat captains and watercraft rental businesses can begin preparing their vessels for folks starting tomorrow morning," Murphy said. "Even with social distancing, we are confident that everyone can have a safe and memorable summer."
"We're going to chip away at the blanket stay-at-home reality," Murphy said of the gradual reopening of activities in the state. He said the stay-at-home order continues to remain in place despite the reopening of beaches announced Friday.
Murphy said easing of some restrictions would be allowed by an improving health situation, especially in hospitals, where the impact of COVID19 could best be tracked.
"Across the board, every metric we have followed is showing us that we can move forward," he said, citing improvement in new hospitalizations, the number of patients in hospitals, patients in intensive care units and those on ventilators.
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