Phil Murphy, governor of New Jersey, speaks while Ras Baraka, mayor of Newark, left, listens during a budget press conference in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., on Wednesday, June 27, 2018.

The pace of new coronavirus infections in New Jersey is slowing even as the number of cases rises, indicating that the state's efforts to contain the pandemic are "clearly working," Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday.

The state confirmed 3,219 new cases on Sunday, a 4% jump from the previous day and the lowest percentage increase in new infections since the Covid-19 outbreak began, Murphy said. Officials believe the curve, or the daily rate of new infections, is "undeniably now flattening."

However, he said more than 2,400 people in the state have now died from Covid-19, more than the number of New Jerseyans who died in the Vietnam and Korean wars combined.

"It's still rising, these cases are still rising," Murphy said. "We have got to hit that plateau and then aggressively bring it down back on the other side."

New Jersey has been the second hardest-hit state in the U.S., following New York. The coronavirus has infected at least 64,584 people in the state, Murphy said. There are now over 7,700 people in the hospital with coronavirus-related illnesses, but 556 have been discharged since Sunday.

"We're slowly making progress, discharging more people and holding hospitalizations and critical care patients somewhat even," said Judy Persichilli, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health.