A month after Gov. Phil Murphy ordered the first business closings to help curb the outbreak, New Jersey has now seen at least 78,467 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 3,840 deaths related to COVID-19.

The new total comes after Murphy on Friday announced 3,250 new positive tests and 323 new fatalities in the last 24 hours.

As of 10 p.m. Thursday, 8,011 Garden State residents with the virus or under investigation for it remained hospitalized, Murphy said during his daily coronavirus press briefing in Trenton. Of those, 1,961 were in critical care and 1,594 were on ventilators.

Between 10 p.m. Wednesday and 10 p.m. Thursday, 787 residents with the virus or under investigation for it were discharged from New Jersey hospitals.

“That’s good news," Murphy said.

But the governor expressed dismay over the total number of deaths.

“This now more than five times the number of New Jerseyans we lost on 9/11,” he said.

“Every life we mourn was of a remarkable person,” Murphy added. “We must all come together, stay together, and keep working together.”

New Jersey, a state of 9 million residents, continues to have the second-most cases and deaths among U.S. states. Only New York has more of each.

Officials said Friday they are “cautiously optimistic" New Jersey is seeing a “flattening” of the outbreak — though April and May are expected to remain “very busy,” state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said.

“We’re cautiously optimistic and hopefully optimistic that we’re leveling off, but we still expect it to be pretty high,” Persichilli said.

She added that North Jersey has likely already seen the peak of hospitalizations from COVID-19, but Central or South Jersey have yet to see their peaks.

“And it’s coming,” Persichilli said.

Officials once again stressed that lockdown orders must remain in place and residents need to keep practicing social distancing. On Thursday, Murphy announced all schools in the Garden State will remain closed through at least May 15.

“I know it’s hard, I know it’s not fun, I know it’s going to be for a few more weeks, at least,” the governor said Friday. “If you want to be mad at me or find someone to place, go ahead. It’s on me. But my No. 1 goal, my entire focus is on defeating this virus and getting our state back to where we can responsibly reopen it.”

“We have come a long way already,” Murphy added. “We’re flattening the curve, there’s no doubt about it. But we cannot let up until we’ve ridden the curve down the other side.”

New Jersey has also seen 78,982 negative tests. Persichilli said the positivity rate in the state is holding steady at about 44.9%.

Still, despite the release of daily statistics, it’s difficult to get a complete picture of exactly how many people in New Jersey currently have COVID-19 because the state is testing only symptomatic residents and officials say testing has been backed up for up days. The state also is not reporting significant increases in daily testing, so it is unclear exactly how quickly the virus is spreading.

‘NOT READY’ TO REOPEN

The new numbers come one day after President Donald Trump unveiled guidelines that governors can take to gradually lifting coronavirus restrictions and reopen the U.S. economy in phases.

Trump admitted Thursday that New Jersey and New York will not open soon.

Murphy concurred Friday, saying he’s “not ready" to begin lifting his restrictions on residents and businesses to help stop the virus’ spread and preserve hospital capacity.

The governor repeated the state will need to beef up testing — with help from the federal government — before the restrictions can be peeled back.

“The last thing we can do is relax and get complacent,” Murphy said.

The first major statewide businesses restrictions — the closing of casinos, movie theaters, gyms, and dine-in sections of restaurants — took effect March 16. The orders have been broadened significantly since then.

Officials said there is evidence the restrictions have helped slow the rate of infection in the state. But Murphy said “it still feels like we’re in the thick of it.”

“April is gonna be our toughest period, assuming we keep doing what we’re doing,” the governor said. "May will be somewhat better — we just don’t know how much better. … And then we’re hoping that we can have the healthcare infrastructure in place and we can begin to responsibly open things up in the warm months."

In an unexpected announcement Friday, Murphy said the state Attorney General’s Office will begin issuing temporary emergency licenses to foreign-licensed physicians to work in New Jersey to help fight the coronavirus.

“It is entirely fitting we are the first state to do this," Murphy said. “This is a state where the immigrant experience is writ large in our collective history. This is a state where people all over the world have come to build a new life and to live the American dream.”

The announcement comes as Murphy and state officials say the state desperately needs experienced healthcare workers and volunteers to help handle the surge in patients and to help distribute food and other supplies to people in need.

Middlesex County opened a drive-through coronavirus testing site in Edison using a new saliva-based test that was developed at Rutgers University.Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN EACH COUNTY

Here are the latest county-by-county breakdowns of confirmed cases as of early Friday afternoon, according to the state coronavirus tracking website:

Bergen County: 11,863 cases, with 714 deaths

Essex County: 9,672 cases, with 684 deaths

Hudson County: 9,636 cases, with 420 deaths

Union County: 8,429 cases, with 330 deaths

Passaic County: 7,604 cases, with 221 deaths

Middlesex County: 7,308 cases, with 309 deaths

Ocean County: 4,424 cases, with 201 deaths

Monmouth County: 4,414 cases, with 206 deaths

Morris County: 3,822 cases, with 232 deaths

Somerset County: 2,195 cases, with 135 deaths

Mercer County: 2,123 cases, with 101 deaths

Camden County: 1,807 cases, with 64 deaths

Burlington County: 1,366 cases, with 54 deaths

Gloucester County: 664 cases, with 22 deaths

Sussex County: 591 cases, with 54 deaths

Warren County: 521 cases, with 36 deaths

Hunterdon County: 385 cases, with 16 deaths

Atlantic County: 370 cases, with 17 deaths

Cumberland County: 263 cases, with 3 deaths

Cape May County: 189 cases, with 14 deaths

Salem County: 102 cases, with 4 deaths

There are another 719 cases and three deaths that are still under investigation to determine where the people reside.

BREAKDOWNS BY RACE AND UNDERLYING CONDITIONS

Here’s the breakdown of New Jersey coronavirus deaths where officials have confirmed the race and medical history of the victims.

Race:

50.3% white

22.3% black

16.65 Hispanic

5.4% Asian

5.4% other

Underlying conditions:

60.8% cardiovascular disease

39.1% diabetes

29.6% other chronic diseases

20.5% chronic lung disease

15.8% chronic renal disease

15% neurological diabetes

13.3% other diseases

11% cancer

The conditions don’t add up to 100% because some victims had more than one underlying issue.

A person is placed in an ambulance at the Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center in Sussex County, where police said 17 bodies were stored in a room at the nursing home. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for

NURSING HOME CASES

For the first time, state officials on Friday released coronavirus data pertaining to 384 longterm care facilities in New Jersey. They said a total of 9,094 cases, including 1,530 deaths, were reported in those facilities.

That means just under 40% the state’s total deaths and more than 11% of total cases have been at those facilities.

Here’s the breakdown by county:

Atlantic: 8 facilities reporting 53 COVID-19 cases and 6 deaths

Bergen: 51 facilities reporting 1,831 cases and 352 deaths

Burlington: 15 facilities reporting 310 cases and 32 deaths

Camden: 14 facilities reporting 281 cases and 48 deaths

Cape May: 4 facilities reporting 30 cases and 2 deaths

Cumberland: 2 facilities reporting 3 cases and 0 deaths

Essex: 38 facilities reporting 969 cases and 204 deaths

Gloucester: 7 facilities reporting 47 cases and 8 deaths

Hudson: 12 facilities reporting 361 cases and 57 deaths

Hunterdon: 4 facilities reporting 143 cases and 20 deaths

Mercer: 19 facilities reporting 38 cases and 38 deaths

Middlesex: 35 facilities reporting 832 cases and 162 deaths

Monmouth: 40 facilities reporting 782 cases and 114 deaths

Morris: 32 facilities reporting 829 cases and 150 deaths

Ocean: 32 facilities reporting 543 cases and 43 deaths

Passaic: 18 facilities reporting 460 cases and 76 deaths

Salem: 2 facilities reporting 18 cases and 1 death

Somerset: 24 facilities reporting 456 cases and 58 deaths

Sussex: 5 facilities reporting 161 cases and 45 deaths

Union: 26 facilities reporting 472 cases and 91 deaths

Warren: 6 facilities reporting 169 cases and 23 deaths

Officials say about 85% of people who contract COVID-19 see only mild symptoms, but 15% — especially older residents and those with underlying conditions — see more severe cases.

Officials said this week more than 8,000 patients who were hospitalized in the state with the virus or under investigation for it have been discharged since March 31.

As of early Friday afternoon, more than 2.1 million people across the globe have tested positive for the virus, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. Of those, more than 147,000 have died.

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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01.

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