N.J. reports 1,354 COVID cases, 2 deaths; positive tests down 31% from last month

New Jersey health officials reported another 1,354 COVID-19 cases and two confirmed deaths on Tuesday as positive tests dropped more than 30% from a month ago.

The statewide rate of transmission was 0.95 on Tuesday, up from 0.92 on Sunday, state health officials reported. A transmission rate of 1 means the number of cases have leveled off, while anything above 1 indicates the outbreak is expanding.

The state’s seven-day average for confirmed coronavirus positive cases is 1,260 — a 6% decrease from a week ago and a 31% decrease from a month ago.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t currently deem any of the state’s 21 counties to be in the “high” risk category for coronavirus transmission.

Cumberland and Mercer counties are designated “low” risk, while the other 19 counties are considered “medium” risk.

There were 1,167 patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases reported across the state’s 71 hospitals as of Monday night. Of those hospitalized, 128 are in intensive care and 44 are on ventilators.

The statewide positivity rate for tests conducted Saturday, the most recent day for which data is available, was 11.59%.

The CDC considers positivity rates above 10% to be “high.” New Jersey’s statewide positivity rate is substantially lower than its peak of 40.83% on Jan. 1 during the height of the omicron variant.

TOTAL NUMBERS

New Jersey has reported 2.3 million total confirmed COVID-19 cases since it announced its first known case on March 4, 2020.

The Garden State has also recorded 427,422 positive antigen or rapid tests, which are considered probable cases, as of Tuesday. There are also numerous cases that were likely never counted, including at-home positive tests that are not included in the state’s numbers.

The state of 9.2 million residents has reported 34,864 COVID-19 deaths — 31,748 confirmed fatalities and 3,116 probable ones as of Tuesday.

New Jersey has the ninth-most coronavirus deaths per capita in the U.S. — behind Mississippi, Arizona, Oklahoma, Alabama, West Virginia, Arkansas, New Mexico, Tennessee and — as of Monday. Last summer, the state had the most deaths per capita in the nation.

VACCINATION NUMBERS

More than 7.1 million people who work, live or study in New Jersey have reached fully vaccinated status. More than 7.96 million have received a first dose since vaccinations began in the state on Dec. 15, 2020.

More than 4.3 million people in the state eligible for boosters have received one.

LONG-TERM CARE NUMBERS

At least 9,746 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 the most recent state data.

A new survey from the CDC reported influenza, primary COVID-19, and COVID-19 booster coverage was lowest among health care personnel working in long-term care settings.

Of the active outbreaks at 365 facilities, there are 8,176 current cases among residents and 6,463 cases among staff, as of the latest data.

GLOBAL NUMBERS

There have been more than 628 million COVID-19 cases reported across the globe as of Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus database. More than 6.5 million people have died because of the virus, the data shows.

The U.S. has reported the most cumulative cases (more than 97 million) and deaths (at least 1.06 million) of any nation.

There have been more than 12.8 billion vaccine doses administered globally.

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Camille Furst may be reached at cfurst@njadvancemedia.com. Find her on Twitter @CamilleFurst.