The death toll from the coronavirus in New Jersey surged Wednesday to at least 3,156 total fatalities — exceeding the 2,997 total number of people killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks — as state officials announced that total confirmed cases in the state have increased to 71,030.

Those numbers include 2,625 new positive tests and 351 new deaths in the last 24 hours.

“These lives should be the inspiration we need to keep working to defeat COVID-19 and to lower the toll this enemy is having on our blessed state,” Gov. Phil Murphy said during his daily coronavirus briefing in Trenton. “Stay home, stay apart, keep your face covered, and we will beat this damn virus.”

A significant number of the new deaths reported Wednesday occurred over Easter weekend and there have been reporting delays.

He also noted that the overall number of positive test results is cumulative. Of the 71,030 cases, about 54,000 have been reported in the month of April and about 17,000 people have now exited the two-week incubation period.

“Sadly, we have lost some of those folks,” Murphy said. “But as we see the daily overall number of positive test results rise, we should also keep in mind there are hundreds, if not thousands, of residents who have received positive tests results and have now defeated the virus.”

New Jersey is reporting 72,991 who have tested negative for the coronavirus. The positivity rate in the state is 44.69%.

As of 10 p.m. Tuesday night, 8,270 patients were hospitalized with the virus or suspected of being infected. That includes 1,980 patients in critical care and 1,705 on ventilators. Between 10 p.m. Monday and 10 p.m. Tuesday, 709 residents discharged.

State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said since April 4, 6,300 patients diagnosed or under investigation for having coronavirus have been discharged from New Jersey’s hospitals.

“While the numbers we report every day are grim, over 6,000 discharges is a reminder people are getting better and overcoming this illness,” Persichilli said.

It’s difficult to get a complete picture of exactly how many people in New Jersey currently have the coronavirus because the state is testing only symptomatic residents and officials say testing has been backed up for up to 14 days. The state also is not reporting significant increases in daily testing, so it is unclear exactly how quickly the virus is spreading.

The partial county-by-county breakdown of cases includes:

Bergen County: 10,848 with 608 deaths

Essex County: 8,579 with 590 deaths

Hudson County: 8,511 with 312 deaths

Union County: 7,438 with 269 deaths

Passaic County: 6,750 with 182 deaths

Middlesex County: 6,576 with 248 deaths

Monmouth County: 4,122 with 167 deaths

Ocean County: 4,016 with 166 deaths

Morris County: 3,525 with 212 deaths

Somerset County: 2,001 with 101 deaths

Mercer County: 1,856 with 76 deaths

Camden County: 1,587 with 49 deaths

Burlington County: 1,261 with 45 deaths

Gloucester County: 602 with 14 deaths

Sussex County: 551 with 41 deaths

Warren County: 468 with 30 deaths

Hunterdon County: 356 with 14 deaths

Atlantic County: 322 with 13 deaths

Cumberland County: 210 with 3 deaths

Cape May County: 178 with 10 deaths

Salem County: 84 with 4 deaths

There are another 1,189 cases and two deaths still under investigation to determine where the person resides.

The breakdown of deaths by race include:

White 51.7%

Black 21.9%

Hispanic 15.5%

Asian 5.7%

Other 5.2%

The breakdown for the 1,442 deaths that officials know the medical histories of:

60% had cardiovascular disease

37% diabetes

29.6% chronic diseases

20% chronic lung diseases

15% neurological conditions

11.4% cancer

“Definitely comorbid conditions are a complicating factor for COVID-19 deaths,” Persichilli said.

The health commissioner said those numbers don’t add up to 100% because some victims had more than one condition.

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

On Tuesday, Murphy said New Jerseyans will likely be under strict social-distancing orders to fight the spread of the virus for another six weeks before restrictions could begin to be pulled back in June or July.

Murphy said Wednesday that even after businesses begin to reopen, residents should expect a “new normal,” with some restrictions remaining and no mass gatherings for “the foreseeable future.”

With New Jersey cases and deaths still rising, though at a slower rate, health officials predicted Tuesday the state’s peak in hospitalizations will hit 15,922 patients on April 25.

As of Wednesday morning, nearly 2 million people across the globe tested positive for the virus, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. Of those, more than 128,000 have died and more than 500,000 have recovered.

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

Tell us your coronavirus stories, whether it’s a news tip, a topic you want us to cover, or a personal story you want to share.

If you would like updates on New Jersey-specific coronavirus news, subscribe to our Coronavirus in N.J. newsletter.

Sign up for text message alerts from NJ.com on coronavirus in New Jersey:

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or Facebook.

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips

Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.