UPDATE MONDAY (MARCH 9): N.J. coronavirus update: 5 new cases pushes total to 11 for state

Two more people in New Jersey have tested as “presumed positives” for the coronavirus, the virus that causes COVID-19, state officials announced Sunday afternoon.

Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver announced the total, which now stands at six, in a call with the state Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.

The two latest cases:

- A 70-year-old male healthcare worker from Teaneck, who is in stable condition in the ICU of St. Joseph’s Medical Center. He was admitted to the Paterson hospital Friday. Due to his condition, the man has not yet completed a full interview and it is not known who in New Jersey he came in contact with after his onset of symptoms Feb. 28, Persichilli said.

- A 32-year-old man from West New York, who is stable condition at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack. He was admitted Thursday and his condition is currently unknown. This man also has not completed a full interview and it is not known who in New Jersey he came in contact with after his onset of symptoms, also on Feb. 28, Persichilli said.

“We expect increasing activity daily, if not hourly," Persichilli said of the virus’s spread.

Persichilli noted an additional 27 New Jersey people are currently under investigation in the following counties: nine in Bergen, one in Camden, two in Cumberland, three in Essex, two in Hunterdon, two in Middlesex, four in Monmouth, three in Union and one in Sussex.

Six of these are remaining from the 15 investigations the Department of Health’s list presented Saturday, as they await testing. Twenty-one new cases were under investigation as of Sunday. In total, 37 people have been tested in New Jersey, with the six coming back as positive for the coronavirus.

“North to south, the coronavirus virus seems to be spreading,” Persichilli said.

The commissioner also said a New York Uber driver who has tested positive transported passengers to New Jersey. Officials are trying to determine how many people he may have taken across the border, but said it is not so easy to track down the driver.

Four New Jersey residents had the virus as of Saturday. Officials have not declared a state of emergency, and say they can take many preventative measures without doing so.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has yet to confirm the presumptive positive cases in New Jersey, although state officials had expected to hear back on the first two by Saturday.

Officials said Sunday they do not know why they have not heard from the CDC yet, but expect to hear back on the third and fourth cases by Wednesday and the newest cases by Friday.

The first four cases:

- A 32-year-old man who lives in an apartment in Fort Lee and works in New York City, where he has another residence. He was placed in isolation at Hackensack University Medical Center Tuesday, and another member of his household is now under self-quarantine. Persichilli said Sunday the man is a physician and visited CityMD urgent care center on Route 4 in Paramus prior to being admitted to HUMC.

- An Englewood woman in her 30s who sought treatment at Englewood Health Hospital in Bergen County. Officials said she was released from the hospital Thursday and is self-quarantined at her home. Fifteen people who went to the women’s home Feb. 29 have all been told to self-quarantine. She visited the same CityMD center, Persichilli said.

- A 55-year-old man from Englewood admitted to the same hospital Wednesday. He remained in stable condition. He had attended Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland, which President Donald Trump also attended, but officials said the man was never in close proximity to Trump.

- The fourth patient is a 61-year-old man from Cherry Hill, who was admitted to Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital on Tuesday and remains in stable condition, according to state officials. The man visited a Cooper University Health Care urgent care center on Route 70 in Cherry hill prior to being admitted to the hospital, Persichilli said Sunday.

No one in the Garden State who contracted the virus has died.

The World Health Organization has reported more than 3,500 coronavirus deaths from over 100,000 cases around the world as of Sunday morning, most of them in China, where the outbreak began.

Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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