All of the Asbury Park Press coverage of the coronavirus is being provided free for our readers. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Press at APP.com/subscribe.

Cases of the novel coronavirus at the Jersey Shore continued to grow Wednesday as officials announced eight more in Monmouth County and four in Ocean County.

State health officials said two individuals who tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, died over the past day, bringing the state's death toll to five.

One of those patients was from Essex County and the other was from Hudson County. Both were older than 60 and had preexisting medical conditions, officials said.

Statewide, 162 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday sent the state's overall count to 427, Gov. Phil Murphy said.

"This is increasing with a pretty steep curve as we had expected," Murphy said at a news conference.

Statewide update: NJ reports two more coronavirus-related deaths as cases spike

In Monmouth County, the case count grew to 32, the fifth-most of any county in the state.

In Middletown, three people have so far tested positive for the virus, including a resident of Tomaso Towers, a low-income apartment building on Oakdale Drive housing seniors and people who are handicapped or who have disabilities. That resident was hospitalized as of Wednesday evening, township officials said in a news release.

Health officials have reached out to close contacts of all three individuals who have tested positive.

Officials in Wall announced the township's first case of the virus earlier Wednesday. It was not clear when the test results were returned and whether that case was included in the state's official count, which was released later in the day.

There were eight cases in Ocean County as of Wednesday afternoon, according to state health officials. Ocean County Freeholder Gerry P. Little, the liaison to the Ocean County Health Department, upped that number to nine later in the day.

New cases were reported in the shore communities of Point Pleasant Pleasant Beach and Surf City. The Point Pleasant Beach case is a man in his 40s who is in home confinement, Mayor Paul Kanitra said.

Live updates: Coronavirus in Monmouth and Ocean counties

Information about the Surf City case was not available.

Ocean County has two cases each in Berkeley, Toms River and Manchester, and one in Jackson. Many of the new cases involve spouses or immediate family members of people who previously had tested positive, Little said.

The county Health Department is monitoring 48 people, 35 of whom traveled to places with COVID-19 outbreaks and 13 who had been in close contact with a positive case, Little said.

The surge in cases has been spurred primarily by an increase in testing across the state, but also indications that the outbreak is growing through community spread.

About 55% of known cases in the state have required a patient to be hospitalized, state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said, but that number is likely to fluctuate as testing expands.

The state plans to open a drive-thru testing site, supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel next week. A similar site at Bergen County Community College will open Friday, officials said.

That site will be be able to process 2,500 test kits each week and will test only people with symptoms, Persichilli said. Health care workers and first responders will be given priority.

Persichilli said Rutgers University School of Public Health students will soon be sent to work with county health departments on tracking people who have had contact with people sticken with COVID-19. She said the students will reduce the growing burden on county health departments, who have been investigating each positive case of the virus.

Coronavirus: Drive-thru testing to start in Marlboro

Persichilli said concern about the health care system's capacity has grown with the number of COVID-19 cases in the state. She said the state Health Department has identified 260 additional hospital beds, including 11 in central New Jersey, that will be ready by the end Wednesday. The department expects to have 227 more beds within the next three or four weeks.

Officials also hope to reopen hospitals that have closed in recent years to deal with a possible surge in patients. The state is seeking to involve the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the effort.

The New Jersey State Nurses Association has put out a call to all nurses with active or expired licenses asking for help as the pandemic grows.

Murphy did not announce new measures aimed at social distancing, but said even private gatherings like weddings and funerals should not exceed the state's limit on 50 people per gathering. Police in Lakewood said they broke up two weddings Tuesday night that were in violation of the order.

The governor said police would be aggressive about breaking up large house parties and urged all 9 million state residents, especially young people, to cooperate with the state's wide-ranging restrictions meant to curb the spread of the virus.

"We need you to live this," Murphy said.

Andrew Goudsward covers breaking news. Contact him at agoudsward@gannettnj.com; 732-897-4555 or @AGoudsward on Twitter.