In yet another massive 24-hour surge, state officials Friday announced 1,982 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 27 new known deaths in New Jersey, boosting the statewide total to at least 8,825 known cases, including 108 deaths.

That’s the largest one-day total of new deaths the state has reported since the outbreak of the fast-moving virus began.

“We mourn with these families and indeed with our entire state every precious life that has been lost,” Gov. Phil Murphy said at the Trenton War Memorial during his daily coronavirus press briefing. “We can’t bring them back. That is as stark a reality as we have to face.”

Murphy also said he expects the state’s battle to slow the virus’ spread to continue though through next month and beyond.

"I don’t see any scenario where this doesn’t bleed meaningfully into May,” he said.

New Jersey, which has about 9 million residents, ranks second in the United States in total coronavirus cases, after the neighboring state of New York.

Officials say they expect the number of positive cases to keep rising as testing expands in New Jersey. But that, they say, should give them more information on how to fight COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said the peak of infections may be three weeks away. The actual number of cases is likely even higher than the numbers announced Friday, because there’s been a lag in test results as long as seven days, officials said.

That also means Murphy’s most dramatic social-distancing restrictions on residents — including ordering them to stay at home and mandating non-essential businesses be closed — are not being factored into the state’s current reported numbers.

Friday was also the first time the number of new cases in New Jersey was smaller than the day before. The state reported 2,492 new cases Thursday.

Laboratories in New Jersey — both state-run and commercial — have have administered at least 28,043 coronavirus tests since the outbreak started, producing 8,296 positive tests, Persichilli said. That’s a positive rate of 33.4%.

Persichilli said she may have numbers by Monday on how many New Jerseyans with the virus have recovered.

“You have to make an assumption that absent the deaths, everyone else is recovering or on the road to recovery,” Persichilli said.

She noted that 1,080 residents who have tested positive were hospitalized as of late this week, though 1,872 more cases are under investigation.

There are 55 nursing homes out of the 375 nursing homes in the state where at least one positive case has been found, she said.

At Friday’s briefing, Murphy lashed out at people who are getting tested without showing symptoms.

Murphy said it is “useless” and “unnecessary” to test people who are asymptomatic, saying it would “not provide us with the critical data we need to get out in front and stay out in front."

“We need to know we’re testing the right people and not wasting tests," he added.

The latest county-by-county breakdown of cases, according to the state tracking website, shows:

Bergen County: 1,505 positive cases

Essex County: 826 positive cases

Middlesex County: 640 positive cases

Monmouth County: 634 positive cases

Hudson County: 594 positive cases

Union County: 519 positive cases

Ocean County: 484 positive cases

Passaic County: 484 positive cases

Morris County: 391 positive cases

Somerset County: 222 positive cases

Mercer County: 131 positive cases

Camden County: 95 positive cases

Burlington County : 88 positive cases

Sussex County: 65 positive cases

Hunterdon County: 52 positive cases

Gloucester County: 40 positive cases

Warren County: 38 positive cases

Atlantic County: 14 positive cases

Cumberland County: 9 positive cases

Cape May County: 7 positive cases

Salem County: 3 positive cases

Officials also announced Friday that the state-run testing sites at Bergen Community College in Paramus and PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel will go to a new schedule starting Saturday.

On Saturday, both sites will only test health-care workers and first-responders. After that, the sites will run on alternating days for people across the state showing symptoms.

On Sunday, only the Paramus center will be open. On Monday, only the Holmdel center will be open. They each will administer 500 tests a day.

On Thursday, Persichilli said New Jersey will create a bioethics panel to evaluate what would happen if the demand for ventilators needed to help critically ill coronavirus patients exceeds the supply.

She said Friday officials are expecting a surge in hospitalized patients by mid-April. But, Persichilli said, she expects the state’s hospitals to be able to handle the surge, though more ventilators may be needed.

The best tool to flatten the curve of cases and not overload hospitals, she said, remains to be practice social distancing, or limiting human interaction.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration for the state Thursday, making it eligible for special federal funding for expanded unemployment insurance, child care, and supplemental nutrition and assistance programs. Residents also stand to benefit from a $2 trillion federal stimulus package that Congress is set to approve.

The virus has infects more than 595,000 people and killed more than 29,000 across the world, while more than 131,000 are known to have recovered, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University.

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

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