Another 137 New Jersey residents passed due to COVID-19-related complications, bringing the statewide death toll to 7,871.
By Matt Skoufalos | May 3, 2020
NJ DOH COVID-19 Dashboard – 5-3-20. Credit: NJ DOH.
Another 3,144 New Jersey residents have tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the statewide total to 126,744 cases, Governor Phil Murphy reported Sunday.
Sadly, 137 more residents perished from complications related to the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 7,871 lives lost during the pandemic.
Throughout New Jersey, 5,317 people were hospitalized with a case of COVID-19, or while awaiting confirmation of their symptoms.
Of those, 1,623 were in intensive or critical care, and 1,198 were on ventilators. In the past 24 hours, hospitals discharged 488 patients, either to a lower-acuity care setting or to their homes. Forty-one patients are presently receiving care at one of the state’s field medical stations, which have served 395 people in total.
Statewide, 508 long-term care (LTC) centers have reported at least one case of COVID-19. LTC sites have been associated with 20,841 COVID-19 cases and 3,733 deaths. State-run veterans homes have accounted for 358 COVID-19 cases and 114 deaths.
Governor Phil Murphy – COVID-19 Briefing – 4-29-20. Credit: NJ Pen.
Multistate purchasing collaboration
On Sunday, the seven-state Northeast coalition of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts said they will create a regional supply chain to drive group purchases of personal protective equipment (PPE), medical equipment, and COVID-19 tests.
The arrangement will supplement their federal cooperation by working to “identify the entire region’s needs for these products, aggregate demand among the states, reduce costs, and stabilize the supply chain,” according to a joint statement.
It will also stockpile resources sufficient to address any potential second wave of the virus to keep first responders and hospital staff well supplied as needed.
“The goal of this approach is to decrease the potential for disruptions in the supply chain for PPE and medical equipment, including sanitizer and ventilators, and testing, and promote regional economic development,” the coalition said in a statement.
The collaboration could also leverage new technological approaches to identify “alternative methods of production” for such products, including 3D printing.
“Our states should never be in a position where we are actively competing against each other for life-saving resources,” Murphy said in a statement.
“By working together across the region, we can obtain critical supplies as we begin the process to restart our economies, while also saving money for our taxpayers.”
Camden County COVID-19 Briefing – 4-9-20. Credit: NJ Pen.
Local cases
In Camden County, another 90 residents tested positive for COVID-19, the county government reported Sunday, bringing the local total to 3,437 confirmed positive cases and 138 related deaths.
Of the 3,437 local cases, 843 have originated in a Camden County long-term care (LTC) facility, or 25 percent.
LTCs are believed to be associated with 125 of 138 local deaths, or 90 percent.
“I can see a glimmer of hope, as our numbers have not had significant growth, and have stayed relatively consistent,” said Camden County Freeholder-Director Lou Cappelli in a statement.
“The reason for this hope is a direct testament to the residents of Camden County who have taken this threat seriously, as well as to the first responders, medical providers, and frontline workers who have been continuing to go to work each day and keep the rest of us safe,” Cappelli said.
The newest local cases are:
- a Bellmawr teenaged girl and teenaged boy
- a Berlin Township man in his 70s
- 22 Camden City women, seven each in their 40s and 60s, three in their 50s, two each in their 20s and 30s, and a teenaged girl; and 17 men, six in their 40s, three each in their 20s and 50s, two each in their 30s and 60s, and one in his 70s
- five Cherry Hill women, one each in her 20s, 30s, 50s, 70s, and 80s; and four men, two in their 40s, and one each in his 30s and 80s
- two Gloucester City men, one each in his 40s and 60s; and a woman in her 80s
- three Gloucester Township women, one each in her 30s, 50s, and 80s; and three men, one each in his 30s, 50s, and 60s
- a Lawnside man in his 70s
- three Lindenwold men in their 30s; and three women, two in their 20s, and one in her 60s
- a Merchantville woman in her 60s
- a Mount Ephraim man in his 60s
- an Oaklyn woman in her 50s
- three Pennsauken women, one each in her 30s, 40s, and 70s; and a man in his 70s
- a Pine Hill man in his 50s and a teenaged boy
- a Runnemede woman in her 50s
- a Voorhees Township man in his 50s, a teenaged boy, and a woman in her 80s
- a Waterford Township man in his 70s
- four Winslow Township women, one each in her 30s, 40s, 60s, and 80s; and two men in their 60s
- a Woodlynne man in his 40s and woman in her 50s
- a man in his 40s of unknown residence
The Camden County and New Jersey Health Departments are working to facilitate trace investigations into all cases.
