New Jersey’s death toll from the coronavirus pandemic climbed steadily on Thursday, with state officials now reporting at least 3,518 dead and 75,317 total cases, with 362 new fatalities and 4,391 new positive in the last 24 hours— the state’s largest single-day increase in cases.

This marked the third consecutive day that more than 300 new deaths were reported, though state officials have cautioned that there are some delays in confirming coronavirus in patients after they died.

Gov. Phil Murphy also announced the state’s death toll is now larger than the number of New Jerseyans who died in World War I.

“God bless their souls, each and every one of them,” Murphy said of the total deaths during his daily coronavirus press briefing in Trenton. "3,518 is already 3,518 too many.”

Murphy also announced he was extending the closure of all schools in New Jersey until at least May 15.

As of 10 p.m. Wednesday, there were 8,224 patients in New Jersey hospitalized with the coronavirus or under investigation for it. That includes 2,014 in critical care and 1,645 on ventilators.

Between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 10 p.m. Wednesday, 802 patients were discharged from the state’s hospitals.

State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said the daily growth rate in hospitalizations was flat Wednesday night. Since March 31, more than 8,000 patients with the virus or under investigation for it in New Jersey have been discharged from hospitals, Persichilli said.

The state has also reported that 76,513 people have tested negative for coronavirus. The positivity rate is 44.8%, Persichilli said.

Murphy said the state’s social-distancing orders have yielded positive results, but he continued to stress that residents must continue to stay inside because case and death totals are still rising.

“We’re not home yet, by any means," Murphy said. "But our efforts are working.”

The partial county-by-county coronavirus cases include:

Bergen County: 11,409 with 668 deaths

Hudson County: 9,165 with 365 deaths

Essex County: 9,084 with 642 deaths

Union County: 7,904 with 301 deaths

Passaic County: 7,317 with 211 deaths

Middlesex County: 6,994 with 278 deaths

Monmouth County: 4,299 with 190 deaths

Ocean County: 4,272 with 185 deaths

Morris County: 3,701 with 216 deaths

Somerset County: 2,103 with 121 deaths

Mercer County: 2,037 with 87 deaths

Camden County: 1,734 with 60 deaths

Burlington County: 1,326 with 52 deaths

Gloucester County: 624 with 18 deaths

Sussex County: 578 with 43 deaths

Warren County: 501 with 33 deaths

Hunterdon County: 373 with 15 deaths

Atlantic County: 344 with 13 deaths

Cumberland County: 223 with 3 deaths

Cape May County: 186 with 10 deaths

Salem County: 95 with 4 deaths

Another 1,048 cases and 3 deaths remain under investigation to determine where the person resides.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage

It’s difficult to get a complete picture of exactly how many people in New Jersey currently have COVID-19 because the state is testing only symptomatic residents and officials say testing has been backed up for up days. The state also is not reporting significant increases in daily testing, so it is unclear exactly how quickly the virus is spreading.

Of the total deaths with information, officials provided the following racial breakdown:

White 51.1%

Black 22.5%

Hispanic 15.5%

Asian 5.5%

Other 5.4%

Murphy said he and other governors will speak with President Donald Trump on Thursday afternoon to discuss how soon some states may be able to lift restrictions on residents and businesses to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Murphy said Thursday that the state can’t begin the process of reopening unless there is stronger mass testing in place, with help from the federal government.

“We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do in New Jersey,” the governor said. “We want to do that in a coordinated way regionally. And God knows, we need the federal government.”

Trump tweeted Thursday afternoon that he will hold a news conference at 6 p.m. to detail “guidelines for OPENING UP AMERICA AGAIN!”

Major News Conference tonight, the White House at 6:00 P.M. (Eastern), to explain Guidelines for OPENING UP AMERICA AGAIN! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 16, 2020

Murphy said Wednesday that residents should expect a “new normal” in New Jersey even after the lockdown begins to lift, with some restrictions remaining and no mass gatherings for “the foreseeable future."

He said Thursday morning during a television interview with NBC 10 in Philadelphia that May should be “better” than April.

“I think we can continue to get back in our feet in the warm months,” he said. “I think it’ll still be important to not congregate in close proximity.”

As of Thursday morning, more than 2 million people across the globe tested positive for the virus, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. Of those, more than 138,000 have died and more than 525,000 have recovered.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report.

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