N.J. reports 1,928 new COVID cases, 12 more deaths. Transmission rate drops after winter peak. – NJ.com

New Jersey health officials on Friday reported another 1,928 COVID-19 cases and 12 confirmed deaths. The state’s rate of transmission continues to fall below the key benchmark, showing signs that the winter’s peak is coming to an end.

The statewide rate of transmission on Friday was 0.82, down from 0.93 on Thursday, officials reported. A transmission rate of 1 means the number of cases have leveled off, while anything below 1 means the outbreak is declining.

The state’s seven-day average for confirmed positive tests is 1,515 — down 23% from a week ago and also down 23% from a month ago.

The CDC considers seven counties in the state to have “high” community levels of the coronavirus: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem. The remaining 14 counties have “medium” community levels. Case counts and hospitalization numbers by region determine each county’s community level, according to the CDC.

There were 1,426 patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases reported across 68 of 70 hospitals in New Jersey Thursday night. Of those hospitalized, 143 are in intensive care and 48 are on ventilators.

The statewide positivity rate for tests conducted Saturday, the most recent day for which data is available, was 13.9%.

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, 2022, during the height of the omicron variant.

TOTAL NUMBERS

New Jersey has reported more than 2.5 million total confirmed COVID-19 cases since it announced its first known case on March 4, 2020.

The Garden State has also recorded 479,192 positive antigen or rapid tests, which are considered probable cases. 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 35,725 COVID-19 deaths — 32,609 confirmed fatalities and 3,116 probable ones.

New Jersey has the 10th-most coronavirus deaths per capita in the U.S. as of Jan. 9.

VACCINATION NUMBERS

More than 7.1 million people who work, live or study in New Jersey have reached fully vaccinated status. More than 8 million people 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 9,968 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.

Of the active outbreaks at 453 facilities, there are 11,950 current cases among residents and 7,800 cases among staff, as of the latest data.

GLOBAL NUMBERS

There have been more than 668 million COVID-19 cases reported across the globe, according to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus database.

More than 6.7 million people have died because of the virus, the data shows. The U.S. has reported the most cumulative cases (more than 101 million) and deaths (at least 1.1 million) of any nation.

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Camille Furst may be reached at cfurst@njadvancemedia.com.