Coronavirus update: As state shuts down, deaths rise to 20 Sunday with 1,914 overall cases

A day after Gov. Phil Murphy ordered nearly all residents to stay home and closed nonessential businesses indefinitely to slow the exponential rise of coronavirus, New Jersey reported four more deaths from the disease on Sunday, bringing the statewide total to 20.

There were also 590 new cases of the virus reported Sunday, bringing the total to 1,914. That puts New Jersey second in the nation in cases, behind only New York.

The escalating numbers reflect the increased testing for COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, as well as widespread transmission in parts of the state. It's too soon to see any impact from social distancing policies. Murphy said he expects the number of cases to climb into the several thousands, as new testing centers open.

Meanwhile, the state moved to address the worsening shortage of protective gear as hospitals continue to burn through thousands of face masks and gowns a day — 3,000 on Friday alone at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, where 67 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, 24 of them on ventilators. As hospitalizations soar, the need for critical-care nurses also escalated, Holy Name's chief medical officer said.

Pent-up demand for virus testing overwhelmed the Bergen County testing center in Paramus on Sunday morning, and it closed within minutes of opening. Officials asked for patience as a second drive-thru facility opens Monday under the management of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Holmdel.

The glut of new test specimens, however, has delayed test results for hospitalized patients, furthering the drawdown of precious protective gear for medical staff, a Hackensack Meridian Health official said Sunday.

Reports of racism directed toward Asian American communities in the state concerned him, the governor said Sunday. "This repugnant and repulsive behavior is wrong even in good times, but even more so now," he said. "We are one New Jersey family. Everyone is fighting the same fight," Murphy said. "Everyone is making the same sacrifices.

"We didn't win World War II because we panicked," he said. "This is a war. We win wars when we stay calm, when we're fact-based, when we're straight with each other. We rise and fall as one extraordinarily diverse New Jersey family."

The governor on Saturday canceled gatherings of any number, including parties, weddings and religious ceremonies. "Folks need to be jolted," Murphy said Sunday. "All residents are to stay inside if you do not need to be out."

Residents may still leave their homes to head to the grocery store, seek medical care, visit close family or someone you have a "close personal relationship" with like a romantic partner, report to work or go outside for exercise. However, Murphy urged everyone to continue to practice safe social distancing by staying at least 6 feet away from others.

The health system copes

The 20 total New Jersey deaths over the last two weeks range from ages 30 to 98, with a median age of 73, said state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.

The four new deaths were a Bergen County man in his 90s, a Passaic County man in his 80s, a Middlesex County woman in her 90s and a Somerset County man in his 70s. The Bergen and Passaic deaths involved people who already had underlying medical conditions. The state is still gathering details on the other two.

State health officials have said those over 60 years old and who have underlying medical conditions such as emphysema or diabetes are most at risk, but growing numbers of younger people have also been testing positive.

Bergen County remains the epicenter for cases in New Jersey. It had 94 new cases Sunday, for a total of 457.

"It's getting harder every minute," said Adam Jarrett, chief medical officer at Holy Name in Teaneck. With heavy demands on nurses in the intensive care units, who must don and doff protective equipment and monitor the high number of ventilator-dependent patients, "we're just keeping our heads above water," he said.

In the emergency department, which had 22 patients as of 1 p.m. Sunday, Jarrett said, "we are now treating every person who comes into the ED as if they’re positive for COVID ... it's incredibly busy."

The hospital's CEO, Michael Maron, tested positive on Friday and is recovering at home and doing well,

Elsewhere in the county, Englewood Health has 61 patients hospitalized for COVID-like illness, 10 confirmed positive and 51 awaiting test results, a spokeswoman said. And Hackensack University Medical Center has more than 70 confirmed coronavirus patients, with another 50 under investigation.

"We're at a critical shortage of N95 respirators," said Daniel Varga, chief physician executive for Hackensack Meridian Health, the 17-hospital system. It has over 160 coronavirus patients, and more than 400 under investigation.

Crews at the Hackensack hospital had created new ventilation systems and cut windows in the doors of regular patient rooms to convert them for intensive-care use, and redeployed nursing staff from other units to assist the critical-care nurses, Varga said. By canceling elective surgery and discharging some patients to long-term care, "we've done a miraculous job of increasing capacity," he said.

Essex County now has 172 cases, Monmouth has 158, Middlesex has 147, Hudson has 126, Union has 124, Morris has 119 and Passaic has 96. With a first case in Salem County, there are now cases in all 21 counties in the state.

Personal protective equipment remains in short supply, but some institutions have told New Jersey they have inventory to share, Persichilli said. The state will centralize the procurement and distribution of equipment from the federal strategic stockpile, vendors and donations, she said Sunday.

Individuals or businesses that don't follow Murphy's executive order will face a disorderly conduct charge, said State Police Superintendent Pat Callahan. Generally in New Jersey, a person with a disorderly conduct charge faces up to 364 days in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.

"If folks are monkeying around, we will take action," Murphy said.

New Jersey had already shut down schools, movie theaters, casinos, racetracks, personal care businesses, performing arts centers, shopping malls, amusement parks, amusement centers, clubs, gyms and bars.

Restaurants are limited to offering delivery and takeout only.

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Testing sites

On Sunday, for the third consecutive day since it began operating Friday, the state coronavirus testing center at Bergen Community College was overwhelmed and closed shortly after it opened at 8 a.m. It will reopen at 8 a.m. Monday. Murphy expects several hundred people to be tested daily up to 2,500 per week at the drive-thru center, which is operated by FEMA.

Passaic County's drive-thru testing station at William Paterson University won't open until at least Wednesday as the county scrambles to find and train more volunteers.

The county has secured 1,000 test kits and also has enough protective gear — masks, gloves, gowns and eye shields — to get started. But it needs more volunteers, and plans to spend Monday and Tuesday training them, county spokesman Keith Furlong said Sunday.

Another testing facility is expected to open Monday at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Monmouth County.

Individuals seeking testing for COVID-19 must provide proof of New Jersey residency and must exhibit symptoms of the virus. Technicians will be screening individuals for symptoms, which include a fever, shortness of breath and coughing. People who do not exhibit symptoms will be turned away. Although physicians' notes are not required, any individual with a note is encouraged to bring it.

Psychiatric hospitals

Staff members at New Jersey's state psychiatric hospitals are taking steps to "contain and mitigate" the spread of coronavirus after a doctor at Greystone Park in Parsippany tested positive for COVID-19, state officials confirmed Sunday.

"This has been a rapidly changing situation as more is learned about this novel coronavirus, requiring us to quickly adapt," said Deborah Hartel, deputy commissioner for Integrated Health Services, which includes the state psychiatric-hospital system. The physician who tested positive for coronavirus is not hospitalized and was asymptomatic while at work, she said.

Staff Writers Deena Yellin, William Westhoven and Richard Cowen contributed to this article.