The grim numbers keep getting worse by the day, with New Jersey now having at least 11,124 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 140 known deaths, as state officials Saturday reported 2,289 new positive tests and 32 new deaths from an outbreak they expect to linger in the state through at least May.

“We are now into five digits, as we predicted — at the pace we expected,” Gov. Phil Murphy said at the Trenton War Memorial during his daily coronavirus press briefing.

For the second straight day, New Jersey has recorded its largest one-day increase in deaths from COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

“This is not a game,” Murphy said. “It is critical for you to stay home.”

State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said at least 29,822 coronavirus tests have been conducted by the state and commercial laboratories since the outbreak started. Of those, 10,436 positive tests have come back, Persichilli said. That’s a rate of 35%.

“Confirmed cases are rising quickly,” Persichilli said.

RELIEF FOR HOMEOWNERS AND RENTERS

Murphy on Saturday unveiled a plan to give a 90-day grace period to homeowners impacted by COVID-19 and struggling to pay their mortgage.

The governor also said there will be a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions for 60 days.

“Many New Jersey families can breathe easier, keep their heads above water, and have a place they can continue to call home,” Murphy said.

In addition, Murphy is urging financial institutions and credit card companies to “do the right thing” and lower credit card interest rates and waive late fees And he told renters and landlords to provide “relief to your tenants."

”To any renter facing eviction, under my executive order, your landlord cannot kick you out of your home during this emergency. Period," Murphy said.

CASES BY COUNTY

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

Bergen County: 1,838 cases (including 250 new ones)

Essex County: 1,086 cases (including 197 new ones)

Middlesex County: 808 cases (including 126 new ones)

Monmouth County: 781 cases

Hudson County: 771 cases

Union County: 742 cases

Ocean County: 624 cases

Passaic County: 608 cases

Morris County: 442 cases

Somerset County: 258 cases

Mercer County: 168 cases

Camden County: 123 cases

Burlington County: 115 cases

Sussex County: 81 cases

Hunterdon County: 61 cases

Gloucester County: 51 cases

Warren County: 51 cases

Atlantic County: 17 cases

Cumberland County: 11 cases

Cape May County: 7 cases

Salem County: 3 cases

There also are 928 confirmed cases that have not been linked to a specific county, state officials said.

Of the 32 new deaths, 20 victims were male, 12 were female, Persichilli said. They range in age from 30 to 100. And 12 have known underlying medical conditions. None are known to be associated with a long-term care facility.

Persichilli said nearly a fifth of the state’s nursing homes have at least one case — 71 out of 375 long term care facilities, or 19%. On Friday, the number was only 55.

She did not have an update Saturday on how many people with the virus are hospitalized. On Friday, Persichilli reported that 1,080 residents who have tested positive were hospitalized as of late this week, with 1,872 more cases under investigation.

New Jersey’s number of cases is expected to keep growing as testing expands. But Murphy stressed that’s “not all bad news” because that will help the state get a better grasp on how to combat the spread of the fast-moving virus.

Right now, only symptomatic New Jersey residents are being tested, and the lag in results is stretching as long as seven days.

Persichilli has said the state may be less than three weeks away from the peak number of cases and officials are preparing for a surge in hospitalized patients by mid-April. The health commissioner said she believes the hospitals will be able to handle the surge.

Murphy said the state expects to be dealing with the virus at least into May. At Saturday’s briefing, he urged people to remain at home and keep practicing social distancing.

“We are by nature a social species,” the governor said. “Staying apart from our friends and families is not human nature. But right now is critically important for us to break the back of that curve, to flatten it, and to emerge from this emergency stronger than ever before.”

Last weekend, Murphy put the state into a near-lockdown, ordering residents to stay home and non-essential businesses to close.

Murphy revealed Saturday that police in Ewing recently broke up a “party with 47 people — including a DJ — crammed into a 550-square foot apartment."

“The organizer was charged, as they should have been and deserved to be,” he said.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said Saturday he’s considering imposing a two-week quarantine on parts of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut to help stop the spread of the virus.

Murphy said he hadn’t heard that until just before his briefing.

“Until further notified, we’re gonna keep doing exactly what we’re doing," the governor said. "We believe the data and our facts are on our side.”

Murphy also said Trump’s administration approved sending New Jersey a third set of more medical supplies to help handle the surge in patients.

The virus has infected more than 649,000 people across the world, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. Of those, more than 30,000 have died and more than 137,00 have recovered.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Rebecca Everett contributed to this report.

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

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