N.J. reports 131 COVID-19 deaths and 9,728 cases as omicron grip continues to loosen

New Jersey on Saturday reported another 131 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 9,728 confirmed positive tests as the state continues its decline from the recent omicron-fueled peak.

The state’s seven-day average for new confirmed positive tests dropped for the 12th consecutive day Saturday, to 10,052, down 51{067fe502a31e650c5185733df64156900ec267ebfd90cbebf0b3fe89b5b413d8} from a week ago, but still up 45{067fe502a31e650c5185733df64156900ec267ebfd90cbebf0b3fe89b5b413d8} from a month ago, when the recent spike driven by the omicron variant was escalating. The seven-day average for confirmed cased peaked at 27,914 on Jan. 10.

The case totals, however, still remain above those seen prior to the omicron surge. New Jersey had not reported a day with more than 7,000 confirmed positive tests before last month. The highest single-day for positive tests was 33,459 on Jan. 7.

Deaths, which tend to follow weeks or a month after a spike in cases, continue to rise. New Jersey has reported 1,693 COVID-19 deaths through the first 22 days of January.

For the week ending Jan. 1, the omicron variant accounted for 95{067fe502a31e650c5185733df64156900ec267ebfd90cbebf0b3fe89b5b413d8} of positive tests sampled (delta variant was second at 3.82{067fe502a31e650c5185733df64156900ec267ebfd90cbebf0b3fe89b5b413d8}), up from 76.2{067fe502a31e650c5185733df64156900ec267ebfd90cbebf0b3fe89b5b413d8} from the week before, according to state data. For the week ending Dec. 4, omicron accounted for less than 1{067fe502a31e650c5185733df64156900ec267ebfd90cbebf0b3fe89b5b413d8} of cases while delta remained the dominant variant at 99.2{067fe502a31e650c5185733df64156900ec267ebfd90cbebf0b3fe89b5b413d8} of tests sampled.

There were 4,511 people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases across New Jersey’s 71 hospitals as of Friday night, when the latest figures were updated.

New Jersey’s statewide transmission rate fell again to 0.72 on Saturday, down from 0.78 on Friday and 0.83 on Thursday, the fifth straight day below the key benchmark of 1. The state saw a recent high of 1.92 on Jan. 1. Any rate below 1 indicates the outbreak is on the decline with each new case leading to fewer than one additional case. When the rate is 1, that means the outbreak has leveled off at its current numbers.

The statewide positivity rate has also been dropping from earlier this month, though it remains above 20{067fe502a31e650c5185733df64156900ec267ebfd90cbebf0b3fe89b5b413d8}. The rate for tests conducted on Monday, the most recent day available, was 20.26{067fe502a31e650c5185733df64156900ec267ebfd90cbebf0b3fe89b5b413d8} — meaning more than 1 in 5 people who were tested had a positive result. The rate had been above 30{067fe502a31e650c5185733df64156900ec267ebfd90cbebf0b3fe89b5b413d8} since Christmas Day before the recent drop.

The state does not issue daily breakdowns of the vaccine status of those who test positive, are hospitalized, or died because of the virus. On Wednesday, however, health officials, provided for the first time a more detailed look at breakthrough cases for vaccinated residents and those who have received boosters.

For the four-week span from Dec. 6 to Jan. 2, New Jersey reported 363,482 total COVID-19 cases, with 11,074 hospitalizations and 600 deaths.

With 3.86 million residents having received only an initial vaccine course (one dose for the Johnson & Johnson or two doses of Pfizer or Moderna), there were 113,774 breakthrough cases that led to 883 hospitalizations and two deaths.

For the 2.3 million people who received booster shots on top of their initial vaccine course, there were 19,380 breakthrough cases that led to 161 hospitalizations and two deaths.

“The rates of infection and hospitalization for those with boosters is more than three times lower than for those who have only a primary vaccination,” Murphy has said.

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New Jersey’s recent surge in cases came as more people are getting tested than ever before. The state on Saturday also reported 1,502 probable cases from rapid antigen testing at medical sites.

“This is likely a dramatic undercount,” Murphy said Wednesday, of the total reported cases. “We know many residents testing positive through at-home tests aren’t reporting those cases.”

Coronavirus deaths have also been rising. New Jersey has now had 10 days, including the last four, with more than 100 deaths in January.

Officials stress that daily death reports do not reflect fatalities that occurred in the last 24 hours and reporting is sometimes delayed for days or weeks as fatalities are investigated and certified. The recent holidays may play a factor in those reporting delays.

All of New Jersey’s 21 counties are still listed as having “high” rates of coronavirus transmission, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency is recommending that all people in high transmission counties wear masks for indoor public settings regardless of vaccination status.

HOSPITALIZATIONS

There were 4,511 coronavirus patients hospitalized across the state’s 71 hospitals as of Friday night, which was 315 fewer than the previous night.

Of the people hospitalized, 737 (54 fewer) were in intensive care and 478 (33 fewer) were on ventilators.

State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli recently said roughly half of those hospitalized with confirmed cases were admitted with COVID-19 as their primary condition. The rest have COVID-19 as well as other co-existing medical conditions, she said.

This comes as some critics have wondered how many of the nation’s COVID-19 hospitalizations are of people who enter the hospital for an unrelated condition and then test positive for the virus, thus inflating the numbers.

But Persichilli said even for those who aren’t admitted for COVID-19 as their primary reason, the virus becomes a “contributing or co-morbid condition that could or could not worsen their principal diagnosis.”

TOTAL NUMBERS

New Jersey, an early coronavirus hotspot, has now reported 30,746 deaths — 27,863 confirmed deaths and 2,883 probable deaths — in the more than 22 months since the pandemic began here. The probable deaths, which are revised weekly, increased Tuesday by 14 fatalities.

The state has the third-most coronavirus deaths per capita in the U.S., behind Mississippi and Arizona, according to the New York Times.

New Jersey has reported 1,778,406 total confirmed cases out of more than 17 million PCR tests conducted since the state’s first case was announced on March 4, 2020. The state has also reported 280,091 positive antigen or rapid tests, which are considered probable cases.

VACCINATION NUMBERS

More than 6.5 million of the 8.6 million eligible people who live, work or study in New Jersey have been fully vaccinated and more than 7.4 million have received a first dose since vaccines began here on Dec. 15, 2020.

More than 2.6 million of the 4.95 million people in New Jersey eligible for boosters have received one.

Murphy has said booster numbers in the state are lacking, and officials will focus on increasing them in the coming weeks.

Anyone 12 and older in the U.S. who has received their second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at least five months ago is eligible to get a booster shot. Anyone 18 and older who has received two doses of the Moderna vaccine is eligible, as is anyone 18 and older who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago. In most situations, the CDC recommends the Pfizer and Moderna boosters, though children 12 to 17 are only eligible for the Pfizer shot as a booster.

Murphy issued an order Wednesday to require vaccinations and boosters for health care workers in New Jersey and anybody else who has a job in “high-risk congregate settings,” such as long-term care and correctional facilities. Those workers will no longer be eligible to opt out of vaccinations by undergoing weekly testing.

The state does not issue daily breakdowns of the vaccine status of those who test positive, are hospitalized, or died because of the virus. Instead, officials provide numbers for periods of time.

For the four-week span from Dec. 6 to Jan. 2, New Jersey reported 363,482 total COVID-19 cases, with 11,074 hospitalizations and 600 deaths.

With 3.86 residents having received an initial vaccine course (one dose for the Johnson & Johnson or two doses of Pfizer or Moderna), there were 113,774 breakthrough cases that led to 883 hospitalizations and two deaths.

For the 2.3 million people who had received booster shots, there were 19,380 breakthrough cases that led to 161 hospitalizations and two deaths.

“The rates of infection and hospitalization for those with boosters is more than three times lower than for those who have only a primary vaccination,” Murphy said Wednesday.

SCHOOL AND NURSING HOME NUMBERS

Cases continue to rise among school staff and students in New Jersey, according to Department of Health numbers that track infections regardless of where the transmission occurred.

For the week ending Jan. 9, with around 60{067fe502a31e650c5185733df64156900ec267ebfd90cbebf0b3fe89b5b413d8} of schools reporting data, another 37,169 confirmed cases were reported among staff (8,644) and students (28,525).

Since the start of the academic year, there have been 109,343 students and 32,391 school staff members who have contracted COVID-19, though the state has never had more than two-thirds of the school districts reporting data in any week.

The state provides total student and staff cases separately from those deemed to be in-school transmission, which is narrowly defined as three or more cases linked through contact tracing. New Jersey has reported 406 total in-school outbreaks including 2,365 students and staff.

At least 8,908 of the state’s COVID-19 deaths have been among residents and staff members at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to state data last updated Friday. There were active outbreaks at 560 facilities, resulting in 10,512 current cases among residents and 12,804 cases among staff as of the latest data.

GLOBAL NUMBERS

As of Saturday, there have been more than 346 million COVID-19 cases reported across the globe, according to Johns Hopkins University, with more than 5.58 million people having died due to the virus. The U.S. has reported the most cases (more than 70 million) and deaths (more than 864,500) of any nation.

There have been more than 9.7 billion vaccine doses administered globally.

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Josh Solomon may be reached at [email protected].