UPDATED: 5:54 p.m.
TRENTON, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Eight more presumptive positive cases of coronavirus have been reported in New Jersey on Wednesday, bringing the statewide total to 23.
Gov. Phil Murphy told Entercom sister station WCBS Newsradio in New York that of the remaining 22 patients, 20 are hospitalized. Two are quarantined at home.
All of the new presumed cases are from North Jersey, but two of them cannot be traced to a specific source. None of them have been confirmed by the CDC, and state officials can't explain why that's the case.
During a press conference, Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said of those new cases, three are female and five are male. They range in age from 17 to 66.
Two of the new cases are from Monmouth County. Another two are from Middlesex County, and four are from Bergen County.
Since officials can't trace back two of the cases, that brings up the possibility of community spread, though Persichilli isn't ready to go that far.
"Community spread indicates that the coronavirus is among us and we have an expectation that that may be the case," she said. "Although I do not have analysis which could point us in the direction of community spread, we are stepping up our mitigation strategies in selected areas."
Thirty-seven other people are under investigation.
Murphy, who is recovering from surgery to remove a likely cancerous tumor from his kidney, told WCBS that there is not a backlog in testing. However, "one of the areas we're frustrated by is the amount of time it's taking between folks giving specimens and getting that test."
Given the amount of fatal cases centered in one nursing home in Washington state, New Jersey is taking action to prevent that from happening here.
"We are advising long-term care facilities to actively screen and restrict visitations to all that want entry into a long term care facility," Persichilli added.
The state announced its first death from the new virus Tuesday.
State agencies are drawing up contingency plans in case employees are required to work at home. Colleges and universities have until Sunday to inform higher education officials on their virus plans. Many have already altered spring break schedules, and some will take their classes online.
Prevention and risk
The best ways to protect yourself from COVID-19 are common-sense hygiene practices: Wash your hands, don't touch your face, cover your cough or sneeze, stay away from sick people, and stay home if you're sick.
For most people, the immediate risk of being exposed to COVID-19 is low, according to the CDC. The risk to the general public depends on how the virus spreads between people.
Most of the reported patients have had mild symptoms. Older adults or people with underlying health conditions are more at risk.
As of Wednesday, there have been more than 930 reported cases in the U.S. and 29 deaths, according to the CDC. Worldwide, there are nearly 113,700 cases and 4,000 deaths.
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KYW Newsradio's Rachel Kurland contributed to this report.
