Murphy gives update on spread of coronavirus, access to testing in NJ

Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.) held a press conference today to announce 4,059 new cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New Jersey, bringing the statewide total to 68,824 cases. Additionally, he said 365 additional residents died, bringing the death toll to 2,805.

As of 10 p.m. last night, 8,185 New Jerseyans with COVID-19 were hospitalized and 2,051 of them were in critical or intensive care, Murphy said. Between Sunday and Monday, 514 residents were discharged from hospitals.

Murphy showed a color-coded map of the state and showed how fast the virus is spreading in each county. For the majority of the state, the number of infected residents takes more than a week to double, according to the map. He said this is an improvement compared to previous maps.

Although the outbreak is showing signs of slowing down, Murphy said residents should not ease their social distancing measures. 

“We can’t take the changes on this map for granted,” he said. “This could very easily backtrack. COVID-19 could boomerang back on us if we stop doing what we’re doing. Let’s only go through this once.”

Murphy said the two major drive-through testing sites at Bergen Community College in Paramus and PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel are continuing to operate on alternate days until they conduct 500 tests. He said the Holmdel site is not reaching capacity as frequently and advised residents seeking testing to visit that site instead of the Paramus site if they are able to do so.

Residents of Hunterdon and Somerset Counties will be able to get tested at Raritan Valley Community College beginning Thursday by appointment only, Murphy said. Those who seek testing must be at least 5 years old, be showing COVID-19 symptoms and have a doctor’s prescription.

Murphy said testing as many people as possible is important for officials to determine when to begin to reopen the state safely. He said New Jersey has approximately 66 testing sites and has tested the fourth-largest number of residents for COVID-19, but said the state still needs more support.

“If you’re in one of those long lines (at a testing center) and you’re frustrated, I don’t blame you. You should be, and so am I. We need more support for testing,” he said. “We can’t begin to think about reopening unless the resources that we get — in particular, the cooperation and resources we get from the federal government — are a lot more robust than they have been.”

The Daily Targum previously reported a Rutgers-developed COVID-19 test using saliva was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and will begin being administered in Middlesex County. The test can be self-administered and used on a wider scale than traditional testing.

New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said she has been in contact with Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences Chancellor Brian Strom regarding the new saliva test and how it can help the state expand its testing capabilities.

“An important benefit of this new, FDA-approved method, is that if we greatly increase the number of people tested, that will allow the state to collect the data that we need (that is) vital to informing our state strategies going forward,” she said.

New Jersey State Police Colonel Patrick Callahan gave an update regarding personal protective equipment. He said New Jersey is one of the first states to acquire decontamination equipment, which will allow officials to decontaminate approximately 80,000 N95 masks each day in order to reuse them.

Murphy also announced he is signing two bills from the legislature to help with COVID-19 relief. The first bill gives employees up to 12 weeks of family leave in a 24-month period without risking their jobs in the event they have to care for a family member due to the virus, he said. The second bill extends the state’s tax filing deadline for income and corporate taxes from April 15 to July 15 and extends the fiscal year until September 30.

Murphy said a decision as to whether schools will remain operating remotely for the rest of the year will be announced by this Friday.

Long-term care facilities continue to be monitored throughout the COVD-19 outbreak, Persichilli said. A total of 5,945 residents have been infected across 342 facilities in the state.

Persichilli said the state has issued 18 orders to these facilities since March 6 to minimize the spread of the virus, including an order prohibiting facilities from admitting new patients if they cannot adhere to infection prevention measures. 

These measures include separating patients based on their COVID-19 status, having adequate staffing and having enough personal protective equipment for those staff members. She said 123 facilities have since been prohibited from admitting new patients.

Persichilli said the state took an inventory of the personal protective equipment at long-term care facilities and was able to distribute more masks, gloves, face shields and gowns to the facilities. A survey was also conducted to determine how many staff members at these facilities are still able to work and how many cannot due to COVID-19 infection or exposure.

To address staffing shortages, 240 volunteers, including nursing assistants, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and clinical nurse specialists, will be sent to long-term care facilities throughout the state to alleviate staffing needs, Murphy said. Additionally, 25 volunteer nurses are being sent to the Menlo Park Veterans Memorial Home.

Murphy said state officials are continuing to work toward slowing the spread of COVID-19 and asked New Jerseyans to do their part.

“As we do these things, you keep doing the things you need to do to get us through this war. Keep practicing social distancing, please keep staying at home, keep being smart and staying in unless you absolutely have to go out,” he said.