Governor Phil Murphy also announced that the state will bring a lawsuit against the city of Asbury Park for pushing to open indoor dining June 15—ahead of the phased-in schedule.
By Matt Skoufalos | June 12, 2020
NJDOH COVID-19 Dashboard – 6-12-20. Credit: NJ Pen.
Another 495 New Jersey residents have tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the statewide total to 166,164 cases, Governor Phil Murphy reported Friday.
Sadly, 48 more residents have perished from complications related to the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 12,489 lives lost during the pandemic.
Throughout New Jersey, 1,480 people are hospitalized with a case of COVID-19, or while awaiting confirmation of their symptoms, a new low.
Of those 1,480 patients, 415 are in intensive or critical care; 300 of ICU and critical-care patients (72 percent) are on ventilators. Overnight, 71 New Jersey hospitals admitted 117 new COVID-19 patients, and 133 others were discharged, either to a lower-acuity care setting or to their homes.
The statewide average of COVID-19 spot positivity testing stood at 2.5 percent June 8; in South Jersey, it’s almost twice as high, at 4.15 percent.
RT, or the estimated rate of transmission of new cases of the virus, was 0.66 June 10. Those figures indicate that every person with COVID-19 is infecting less than one other person, on average, which means the number of new cases continues to decline.
Across New Jersey, 551 long-term care (LTC) centers have reported at least one case of COVID-19, and account for 35,041 infected patients and staff, or 21 percent of total cases.
That includes 23,375 residents and 11,666 staffers sickened by the virus, as well as 5,768 lab-confirmed resident deaths (46 percent of the statewide total) and 114 facility-reported staff deaths.
Of 654 veterans residing in a state-run home, 385 residents have tested positive for COVID-19, and 145 have died from complications related to the virus. Seven veterans presently are hospitalized with COVID-19, and 221 have recovered from the virus.
At state-run psychiatric facilities, 211 of 1,236 patients and 490 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. Seven staffers and 13 patients have died from complications related to the virus; unchanged since last week.
Six patients are presently receiving care at one of the state’s field medical stations, which have served 475 people in total.
To date, 40 New Jersey children, aged 1 to 18, have been diagnosed with pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, said New Jersey Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli.
All have tested positive for an active COVID-19 infection or the presence of COVID-19 antibodies, indicating exposure to the virus. Three children are still currently hospitalized. No deaths have been associated with this syndrome in New Jersey.
In all, the state has seen just 49 COVID-19-related deaths of people younger than 30, Persichilli said. Nearly 80 percent of fatalities are among those 65 and older.
Salon Voi-la owner Ed Meehan outside his Audubon business. Credit: Matt Skoufalos.
Personal care services reopening June 22
The biggest news of Murphy’s Friday briefing was the long list of personal care service providers that are authorized to reopen June 22.
They include:
- Beauty salons
- Barber shops
- Cosmetology shops
- Day spas, excluding saunas, steam rooms, and shared bathing facilities
- Medical/cosmetic spas and electrology facilities
- Massage parlors
- Hair braiding shops
- Nail salons
- Tanning salons
- Tattoo parlors
All services will be offered by appointment only, with health pre-screenings and temperature checks of both clients and staff. Staff-client pairs must be kept six feet apart from one another unless separated by a physical barrier.
Masks are required by both parties unless a client is receiving a service that would require its removal; in that case, those performing the service must wear a mask and a face shield or goggles, or use a table shield.
Photo by Jaredd Craig on Unsplash.
Libraries reopen for curbside pick-up; outdoor sports, summer school resume July 6
Along with outdoor dining and limited-capacity indoor retail, libraries will be allowed to offer curbside pick-ups starting Monday, June 15.
The facilities themselves will remain closed to patrons for now, but officials “are working closely with our libraries as our state gradually and steadily reopens,” Murphy said.
The governor also said that residents should anticipate forthcoming guidance for outdoor, non-contact sports and in-person summer education, including extended-school-year and special education.
Those will be allowed to resume July 6.
Finally, Murphy noted that New Jersey Office Attorney General Gurbir Grewal will be bringing a lawsuit against Asbury Park to enforce the governor’s reopening plan, which the municipality has flauted in its decision to allow indoor dining beginning June 15.
“We have worked with the governing body of Asbury Park to try to amicably resolve their resolution regarding indoor dining,” the governor said. “Unfortunately, they have not done so. We have one set of rules, and they are based on one principle, and that is ensuring public health.”
