The peak number of hospitalizations from the coronavirus in New Jersey could happen as soon as two to three days, with more than 14,000 infected patients seeking care in the Garden State’s medical facilities, state health officials said Thursday.

State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said the state is expected to peak at 14,400 people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases. That would be nearly double the current amount of New Jersey patients in the hospital as of Thursday — 7,363.

Of those predicted cases, 2,880 patients are projected to need critical care. There are currently 1,523 currently patients in critical care and 1,551 on ventilators.

Persichilli said the peak projection is based on a report from Wednesday night, and the forecasts are regularly updated.

“We look at this every day," Persichilli said Thursday at the state’s daily coronavirus press briefing in Trenton. "It changes every day.”

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While three hospitals in the state were on “divert” status Thursday night — which means they are temporarily not accepting new patients — that has been mostly due to “workforce issues.”

Officials say this has been happening at numerous hospitals in recent days as COVID-19 cases increase.

Persichilli said there’s one main thing that separates this pandemic from past health crises.

“I’m struck by the number of people that require hospitalization and decline very quickly,” she said. “When you’re looking at 1,500 people in critical care on any one day, I’ve never quite seen that.”

Officials have said the challenge of the pandemic is reducing the number of cases while also making sure there is enough hospital space for the influx of patients.

Persichilli said she believes New Jersey’s hospitals should be able to handle the surge. She noted Thursday the state has reached its goal of increasing the number of critical care beds at hospitals from 2,000.

At the same time, the federal government is helping the state construct field hospitals to add 1,000 new beds. The first opened in Secaucus this week, a second is set to open this weekend in Edison, and a third is being built in Atlantic City.

Gov. Phil Murphy announced Thursday that New Jersey, a state of 9 million residents, now has at least 51,027 cases and 1,700 deaths from COVID-19. Only New York has more among U.S. states.

In addition, Persichilli said 471 people being treated for the virus in New Jersey have been discharged in the last 24 hours.

State health officials offered the first projections on the peak number of hospitalizations on Monday. That showed peak hospitalizations likely to occur between April 10 (Friday) and April 28.

The state has a separate projection for peak number of cases. That date Monday was between April 19 and May 11, and it could be between 86,000 and 509,000 cases.

Murphy said Thursday there are signs the rate of infection in New Jersey is slowing thanks to social distancing, though he stressed cases and deaths are still rising.

“We are in the early stages of progress," he said. “(But) we’re not in the end zone.”

Murphy said residents need to keep practicing social distancing. The governor has put the state into near-lockdown, ordering residents to stay at home, banning social gatherings, closing schools, and mandating non-essential retail businesses close until further notice. He has also limited the number of people can be in businesses allowed to remain open and required employees and shoppers to wear face coverings.

“This isn’t about you and me,” Murphy said Thursday. “It’s about all 9 million of us. This is not a time for selfishness. This is a time for selflessness.”

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

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