N.J. reports 3,532 COVID cases, 12 deaths as positive tests start rising once again – NJ.com

New Jersey on Thursday reported another 3,532 confirmed COVID-19 positive tests and 12 confirmed deaths as positive tests have begun to rise again after declining through June.

The states seven-day average for confirmed positive tests increased Thursday to 2,792, a 24% increase from a week ago and 14% increase from last month.

The statewide positivity rate for tests conducted Saturday the most recent day with available data was 18.16%. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers positivity rates above 10% to be high. However, the positivity rate is substantially lower than its peak of 40.83% on Jan. 1 during the height of the omicron variant.

New Jerseys rate of transmission was 1.06 on Thursday, up from 1.05 Wednesday. When the transmission rate is above 1, that means each new case is leading to at least one additional infection. A transmission rate below 1 is an indication that the coronavirus outbreak is declining.

The states coronavirus dashboard had incomplete numbers for hospitalizations on Thursday with just 60 of 71 hospitals reporting data. Hospitals reported 1,013 patients as of Tuesday night, the highest number since Feb. 20.

There were 1,013 patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases reported across the states 71 hospitals as of Tuesday night. Thats the highest number of patients since Feb. 20.

Despite the recent rise in cases however, hospitalizations remain significantly lower than when they peaked at 6,089 on Jan. 10 during the omicron wave.

Six New Jersey counties are now considered high risk for COVID-19 transmission Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Monmouth and Morris. Those in high-risk areas are recommended to wear a mask indoors in public and on public transportation and stay up to date on vaccinations, according to the CDC.

The states 15 other counties are in the medium-risk category: Bergen, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren. Masks are not recommended in the medium- and low-risk regions.

New Jersey has reported 2,164,884 million total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the more than two years since the state reported its first known case March 4, 2020.

The Garden State has also recorded 370,183 positive antigen or rapid tests, which are considered probable cases. And there are numerous cases that have likely never been counted, including at-home positive tests that are not included in the states numbers.

The state of 9.2 million residents has reported 34,145 COVID-19 deaths 31,055 confirmed fatalities and 3,090 probable ones.

New Jersey has the seventh-most coronavirus deaths per capita in the U.S. behind Mississippi, Arizona, Alabama, West Virginia, Tennessee and Oklahoma as of the latest data reported July 4. Last summer, the state had the most deaths per capita in the nation.

More than 6.96 million people who work, live, or study in the Garden State have reached fully vaccinated status.

Over 7.86 million have received a first dose since vaccinations began in the state on Dec. 15, 2020.

More than 4 million people in the state eligible for boosters have received one. That number may rise after the Food and Drug Administration approved booster shots for healthy children between the ages of 5 and 11. U.S. regulators authorized the booster for kids, hoping an extra vaccine dose will enhance their protection as infections continue to spread.

At least 9,375 of the states COVID-19 deaths have been among residents and staff members at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to state data.

Of the active outbreaks at 367 facilities, there are 4,655 current cases among residents and 4,735 cases among staff, as of the latest data.

As of Wednesday, there have been nearly 600 million COVID-19 cases reported across the globe, according to Johns Hopkins Universitys coronavirus database, and more than 6.36 million people have died because of the virus.

The U.S. has reported the most COVID cases (more than 89.2 million) and deaths (at least 1.02 million) of any nation.

There have been more than 11.8 billion vaccine doses administered globally.

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N.J. reports 3,532 COVID cases, 12 deaths as positive tests start rising once again - NJ.com