The NJ reports 5 new deaths from COVID, 3,097 cases. There are many indicators that point to the spread of the virus.

New Jersey reported five more COVID-19 deaths and 3,097 cases on Sunday, as the state’s seven-day caseload average hit a new seven-month high and the transmission rate continues to increase.

The state’s seven-day average for new positive tests increased by 2,993, up 65% from a week ago and 183% from a month ago. It is also the highest average since April 19. By comparison, the seven-day average was 4,573 on December 5, 2020, when vaccines were not yet available.

As of Saturday evening, 1,113 patients were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of coronavirus in 68 of 71 New Jersey hospitals. Two hospitals did not report data. New Jersey has reported more than 1,000 hospitalizations for six consecutive days.

Of those hospitalized, 217 patients were in intensive care (eight more than the night before), 89 of whom were on ventilators (one less). At least 148 patients were discharged statewide in the 24 hours leading up to Saturday night.

Hospitalizations have climbed 59% since November 1, when there were 700 patients. But Saturday’s hospitalization figure represents about a third of the 3,292 people hospitalized on December 2, 2020. Authorities say almost everyone currently hospitalized is not vaccinated.

The statewide transmission rate for Sunday rose to 1.2, from 1.16 reported on Friday. Any transmission rate greater than 1 indicates that the pandemic is spreading, as each infected person transmits the virus to at least one other person.

The statewide positivity rate for Monday, the most recent day available, was 6.52%.

The latest increases in positive tests and hospitalizations come after a weekend of Thanksgiving gatherings and colder temperatures, pushing people inside.

In addition, the new omicron variant of the virus, which was first identified in South Africa and has since spread to more than 20 countries, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, is causing a stir. global concern.

The first case from the United States was discovered this week in California. Locally, several cases have been identified in New York, and Pennsylvania reported its first case on Friday, in Philadelphia. The variant has also been found in Colorado, Hawaii, and Minnesota.

The first case from New Jersey is an adult Georgian woman who is fully vaccinated and traveled to New Jersey after recently traveling to South Africa. State officials said she tested positive on November 28, has since been in isolation at an unidentified hospital in North Jersey and exhibited moderate symptoms.

Health officials are encouraging all people 18 and older in New Jersey who received their second dose of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines six months or more ago to be reminded. Anyone 18 years and older who has received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is also eligible for a booster two months after their single injection.

New Jersey reported a total of 54,260 cases among those fully vaccinated on Monday, resulting in 1,160 hospitalizations and 314 deaths, although these represent a small percentage of the total number of cases.

From November 8 to 14, the state reported 12,138 positive tests. Of these, 3,116 were from fully vaccinated individuals and these cases resulted in 16 hospitalizations (out of 602 in total) and one death (out of 85 in total).

All 21 counties in New Jersey are listed as having “high” rates of coronavirus transmission, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency recommends that all people in high transmission counties wear masks for indoor public places, regardless of their immunization status.

More than 6.26 million people who live, work or study in New Jersey – a state of about 9.2 million people – have now been fully immunized. More than 8.4 million people in the state have received at least one dose and more than 1.46 million people have received third doses or boosters.

At least 152,000 doses of the vaccine have been given to children aged 5 to 11 in New Jersey since federal authorities approved Pfizer injections for this age group, according to the state.

New Jersey has now reported 28,457 deaths in the state, including 25,630 confirmed deaths and 2,827 probable deaths – in the nearly 21 months since the start of the pandemic here.

The state has the third highest number of coronavirus deaths per capita in the United States, behind Mississippi and Alabama.

New Jersey has reported 1,103,202 confirmed cases in total out of more than 16.1 million PCR tests performed since the state’s first case was announced on March 4, 2020. The state has also reported 169,526 positive tests of antigen or rapid tests, which are considered probable cases.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter| Home page

At least 8,702 of the deaths from COVID-19 in the state have occurred among residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to state data. There have been active outbreaks in 132 facilities, resulting in 651 current cases among residents and 585 among staff members on Friday.

New Jersey reported 23 new school coronavirus outbreaks across the state on Tuesday, linked to 87 more positive tests among students and staff. There have been a total of 217 school outbreaks across the state among students and staff this school year, leading to 1,172 cases.

Only Burlington and Warren counties have not reported any outbreaks at school this year.

School outbreaks, which are reported weekly by the state, are defined as three or more cases that are determined by contact tracing to have been transmitted among staff or students at the school. They do not include the total number of cases among staff and students, a number the state began providing for the first time last week.

There have been at least 25,785 cases among students and 5,701 among staff since the start of the school year.

As of Sunday, more than 265.6 million cases of COVID-19 were reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University, with more than 5.2 million people dying from the virus. The United States has reported the highest number of cases (over 49 million) and deaths (over 788,200) of any country.

More than 8.1 billion doses of vaccine have been administered worldwide.

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Jackie Romain can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JacqueRoman.