New Jersey's death toll from coronavirus grew to nine on Thursday with the deaths of four more people, including the youngest state victim yet — a Bergen County man in his 30s, officials said.

The accelerating pace of testing pushed total cases to 742, a 75% jump in a single day as new diagnoses were reported among residents of six nursing homes and an officer at the Bergen County Jail. Gov. Phil Murphy said he expected "thousands more" to test positive in the coming days.

The first state-sponsored drive-thru testing site is to open Friday morning at Bergen Community College, operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency with help from the National Guard and state police. With hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week, it will have materials for 2,500 tests, to be replenished weekly.

"This is not for the 'worried well,' " said Col. Patrick Callahan, superintendent of the state police. Long lines are expected, and those without symptoms will not be tested.

The nine people who have died from coronavirus complications in New Jersey include three residents of long-term care facilities in Essex and Hudson counties, said state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli. Though a worrisome development, it was expected, she said.

At the six homes where residents have tested positive, admissions have been curtailed, patients are isolated and staff members are using protective garb. Some staff are in self-quarantine because of exposure to the virus, leaving the facilities in a "real stressful situation," Persichilli said.

Visitors have been prohibited at long-term care facilities statewide since last week, and vendors, medical professionals and staff are screened before entering, she said.

Patients are younger, on average, than elsewhere

New Jersey's coronavirus cases range in age from 3 to 95, and have a lower median age — 52 — than reported elsewhere, Persichilli said.

Besides the Bergen County man, the deaths reported Thursday were an Essex County man in his 60s, a Monmouth County woman in her 70s and an Ocean County man in his 70s.

With nearly 200 cases, Bergen County remains the center of the epidemic in the state. Hackensack University Medical Center had treated more than 60 patients with the disease, as of Thursday, and Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck has 14 coronavirus patients in its intensive care unit — all on ventilators — and 33 elsewhere in the hospital, executives at each said.

Only two of the state's 21 counties are without cases. Middlesex County has 64 cases, Essex County has 63, Hudson has 55, Monmouth has 43 and Passaic has 38. Ocean County now has 33 cases, with 25 new ones Thursday.

Murphy emphasized that young people should abide by efforts at social distancing. "Young people are getting a little more sick from this than it looked a week ago," he said.

Delayed elections

Upcoming special elections that had been scheduled — including one in Atlantic City — and all April 21 school elections will be moved to May 12, with voting done by mail, Murphy said. No changes are planned for the June 2 presidential primary election.

State officials are "aggressively monitoring the supply chain" so food and other key supplies get back onto store shelves quickly, Murphy said. "I urge residents not to hoard food or other supplies and to resist the urge to overcrowd grocery stores," he said.

New Jersey residents will be protected from eviction and foreclosure during the coronavirus emergency under a bill rushed through the Legislature this week and signed Thursday by Murphy.

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"No one should fear being kicked out of their home in the midst of this emergency," the governor said.

Adding to the measures designed to avoid spread of the disease, the governor ordered closed all personal-care businesses that can't abide by the social distancing practice of keeping people 6 feet apart, including barbershops, hair and nail salons, spas and tattoo parlors.

He reinforced the need for the public to practice social distancing, by avoiding large groups, staying inside, keeping 6 feet from others and washing hands frequently.

"We know its not easy to be cooped up in a house, but this is what we need to do to get through this, and we will get through this together," he said.

More testing

Some hospital systems now have their own tests, and commercial labs are also conducting tests, enhancing the initial work done by the state laboratory.

But results must come back faster, said Robert Garrett, chief executive officer of Hackensack Meridian Health system, with 17 hospitals. "This is vital because we can confirm and isolate patients as soon as possible," and avoid exposure to health care workers, he said. Negative results also free resources for other patients.

Murphy plans to visit the first FEMA-operated drive-thru testing center, to open Friday in parking lots B and C at Bergen Community College in Paramus. A second center, at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, is to open next week.

Atlantic Health System launched Morris County's first by-appointment-only drive-thru testing center at Morristown Medical Center. The testing center opened Wednesday with 33 appointments. It scheduled 80 appointments for Thursday.

Hospital beds

Garrett said he was "heartened to hear the state is working to bring 500 beds online," to relieve an anticipated shortfall. "They will be needed."

The planned reopening of Inspira Medical Center Woodbury in Gloucester County will take three to four weeks, Persichilli said. "It is not an easy task," she said, describing a checklist of actions, such as reinstating medical gases.

That hospital has 300 beds, and an additional 260 beds can be opened in unused wings of existing hospitals, she said.

St. Clare's Health, a unit of PrimeHealthcare, is "currently conducting a physical assessment of the former Saint Clare’s Health at Sussex, which closed acute care services in April 2014," its spokeswoman said.

Many of the state's health systems have postponed non-emergency procedures, expanding bed capacity by 20%, Garrett said. That allows them to redeploy staff to the emergency department, ICU or other patient care floors.

The Hackensack Meridan system has had 121 positive patients, with 78 currently in the hospital. Another 500 patients are awaiting coronavirus test results.

Staff Writers Stacey Barchenger and Dustin Racioppi contributed to this article.