Coronavirus update: N.J. announces 8 new cases, bringing total to 23 positive tests with 1 death
Taken from NJ.com
By Jeff Goldman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com and Matt Arco | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
March 11, 2020
The number of coronavirus cases in New Jersey has increased by eight, bringing the statewide total to 23 positive tests with one death, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Wednesday.
Murphy, who declared a state of emergency Monday, made the announcement during a television appearance ahead of the 2 p.m. briefing planned by state health officials. He said 20 of those who tested positive are currently hospitalized.
“My guess is it gets worse before it gets better,” Murphy said on News 12, in his first public comments since he had surgery to remove a likely cancerous tumor from his kidney. “And that’s not just a statement about New Jersey. That’s a statement about America and the world. We have been preparing for that and we just have to continue to do what we can to stay out ahead of that.”
Of the eight new cases, four are in Bergen County with two apiece in Middlesex and Monmouth counties. The ages of the people who tested positive range from 17 to 63. Five are male, three are female.
In all 80 people have been tested at the state lab – with 57 negative and 23 positive. Another 37 people are being investigated with 20 tests underway at the lab. The lab is awaiting samples from the other 17 people.
COVID-19 — the illness caused by the virus — has sickened more than 1,000 people nationwide and led to at least 31 deaths, according to NYTimes.com. One of the new cases announced Wednesday is a 44-year-old Teaneck man, officials in the town confirmed. The state’s first death, a 69-year-old man with previous health conditions, took place in Bergen County.