TRENTON, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- More than 330 New Jerseyans were admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 on Sunday, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday, while calling on residents to "remain in a heightened state of alert."
As of Sunday night, 2,693 people in the state were hospitalized with confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases, 537 of whom were in intensive care and 240 of whom were on ventilators, Murphy said at a news briefing Monday afternoon.
Three hundred and thirty-three of the 2,693 hospitalized patients were admitted to hospitals on Sunday, he said.
New Jersey also reported 3,592 new positive COVID-19 test results and 11 new fatalities, pushing its case total to 309,588 and its death toll to 14,960, he said. The state's COVID-19 infection rate on Nov. 19 stood at 8.65 percent, he noted.
"We are in the midst of the second wave, and we don't know how long this new wave of cases will hang in," Murphy said. "Because of this, we can't let our guard down."
"The numbers show why we all need to remain in a heightened state of alert," he added. "We're now back at a place we haven't seen in many months, and unlike some across the country who seem content to just let the virus have its way, that's not what we are about."
Health officials in the state are now focusing on "deploy[ing] the resources we need to the places that need it the most, in an effort to bring these numbers down and to prepare to execute our vaccine distribution plan," the governor said.
If the FDA grants Pfizer emergency authorization to roll out its COVID-19 vaccine, New Jersey is set to receive 130,000 doses of the vaccine by the third week of December, and another 130,000 doses by the fourth week of December, he said.
If Moderna receives emergency authorization, the state could receive 100,000 doses of its vaccine by the end of the year, he added.
Murphy on Monday also announced that small businesses in the state would be eligible for a nearly 70 percent discount on personal protective equipment purchases starting Tuesday, Nov. 24.
