Yesterday marked the 100th day since the first identified case of COVID-19 in New Jersey. Since that day, there have been 165,816 lab-confirmed cases of the virus in New Jersey, and 12,443 confirmed deaths. On that 100th day, Governor Murphy reported 539 new confirmed positive cases and 70 deaths.
Meanwhile, the ROT (rate of transmission) is .62, one of the lowest in the nation. Since the state hit its peak in mid-April, new hospitalizations are down more than 90% and total hospitalizations are down 80%; the ventilator use is also down 80%.
Nationally, an additional 1.5 million filed new unemployment claims; and since March over 44 million have sought benefits across the country. In New Jersey, 23,166 filed for UI benefits last week. While still, a significant amount has filed for those benefits, it was the fifth consecutive week that the number had decreased. Since the start of the pandemic, over 1.2 million of our fellow residents have filed for unemployment.
The State is now entering “Stage 2” and the Governor lifted the stay at home Order this past week and took the following actions:
Executive Order 152 Executive Order Raising Limits on Indoor and Outdoor Gatherings. For more on EO 152, please see the League’s Town Crier blog post of June 11.
Executive Order 153 Executive Order Opening Pools Effective June 22, and Opening Additional Outdoor Recreational Businesses. For more on EO 153, please see the League’s Town Crier blog post of June 12.
In addition, Executive Order 150 permitting outdoor dining and in-person non-essential retail is effective Monday, June 15 at 6:00 a.m. For more, please see the League’s June 4 correspondence.
We also call your attention to the new permitting process through the Division of Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC.) For more, please see this League correspondence from June 4.
Considering the current pandemic, we remind you of NJ Mental Health Cares; the state’s behavioral health information and referral service offer assistance to people dealing with anxiety and stress-related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Residents can call 1-866-202-HELP (4357) for free, confidential support. NJ Mental Health Cares will be answered from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week by live trained specialists.
See the League COVID-19 page for all our resources and communications.
Contact: Michael F. Cerra, Assistant Executive Director, mcerra@njlm.org, 609-695-3481 x120.
