UPDATED: 1:33 p.m.
TRENTON, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Gov. Phil Murphy issued an order on Friday that seeks to control spread of the coronavirus within the state prison population.
With an inmate and a prison staffer dead, and 150 people inside the walls testing positive, Murphy is doing what seven other states and the feds have already done.
"Certain low-risk individuals may be placed — and I say may be — on temporary home confinement or granted parole if already eligible through an expedited process," the governor said.
State correctional institutions are seeing COVID-19 spread, the governor said, leading him to sign the order.
Only those serving time for non-violent crimes will be considered. People convicted of what Murphy called serious crimes like murder or rape would not be eligible for home confinement or parole.
It's not clear how many inmates might be eligible for this move, but they'll make decisions within a week. Prisons will look at an inmate's age and health risk along with how close they are to maxing out of the system.
The prison system has already suspended visitations and transfers from county jails since late March. It's not clear how many inmates might be eligible for this move, but officials will make decisions within a week.
New Jersey's courts recently released 1,000 non-violent inmates from county jails across the state.
New cases and deaths
Murphy reported 3,627 new positive COVID-19 test results since Thursday, raising the statewide total to 54,588. South Jersey alone reports 76 deaths among almost 3,000 positive test results.
We've lost 233 New Jerseyans since yesterday.We've now lost 1,932 New Jerseyans to #COVID19.Behind these stark and impersonal numbers are real people and real families.We must remember them. pic.twitter.com/2xu83hyODB
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) April 10, 2020He said 233 New Jerseyans have died since Thursday. The total number of deaths in the state now stands at 1,932, at least.
"Those aren't numbers. Those are people," Murphy said — real people and real families. "We must remember them."
While the number of positive cases and fatalities continue to climb, Murphy said, "good early signs" were beginning to emerge.
The rate at which the number of positive cases doubles in hard-hit Bergen County had lengthened to about seven days, up from about three days.
About 7,500 people were hospitalized because of the virus, the governor said. That's up from roughly 7,000 the previous 24 hours. More than 1,600 people were in critical condition, with another 1,600 on ventilators. Each category was up from 1,500 on Thursday.
Nearly 700 people have been discharged, up from about 500 the previous day.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
New rapid-test equipment
Murphy also announced that the federal government has sent New Jersey 15 rapid testing machines.
He said the machines will be dispersed to health care systems throughout the state, greatly expanding access to COVID-19 testing.
The equipment, with the proper kits, will process specimens and produce results in approximately five to 13 minutes.
Camden County test site gets new lease on life
Mask donations
Murphy announced that Japanese clothing company Uniqlo donated 100,000 medical-grade masks for front-line health workers on Thursday.
"We feel that the number we received from the donor was an adequate amount of masks to cover the nearly 2,500 households in Logan Township," Mayor Frank Minor said.
The mayor says masks will be given out at the Logan Elementary School from 9 a.m. until noon on Friday and Saturday, this week and next week.
Residents can expect to wait a little while as the line of cars on day one stretched for several blocks.
"We realize the importance of making sure we get this done in a timely and seamless manner. Fortunately, our police and fire details have been tremendous in terms of crowd control, and our residents have been extremely, extremely patient," Minor said.
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KYW Newsradio's David Madden and Eric Walter, and the Associated Press, contributed to this report.
