UPDATE: N.J. confirms 2nd coronavirus death, Monmouth County woman in her 50s

State officials on Saturday announced 19 new coronavirus cases in New Jersey, bringing the official statewide total to at least 69 positive tests since the outbreak began — though the number could be as high as 75 based on additional information from Bergen County.

The update was provided on the state Department of Health coronavirus website at 2 p.m. just before Gov. Phil Murphy held a telephone briefing with reporters about the ongoing spread of the virus, which has forced unprecedented shutdowns, cancellations, and school closures in the Garden State.

“We’re doing everything we can to get ahead of this challenge,” Murphy said during the briefing. "We will get through this. It will not be mistake-free, I’m sure.”

The 19 new cases announced by the state include seven in Bergen County, seven in Middlesex County, two in Essex County, two in Hudson County, and one in Monmouth County.

The patients range in age from 18 to 80 years old. Thirteen of them are women and six are men.

State officials did not provide more details about the patients, such as where they live or are being treated.

While the state briefing was ongoing Saturday afternoon, Bergen County Executive James Tedesco issued a statement saying the county had 31 cases, six more than the state’s account, raising the possibility the state has 75 coronavirus cases. State and local officials have provided contradicting numbers in previous days, as well.

State Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said the discrepancy could be because private testing facilities are reporting directly to local officials, which is then relayed to the state. The state updates on the total number of cases once a day on its website.

“It’s at a point in time," Persichilli said. “Because everyone here is working 24/7 to take care of things we take care of, we have to stop at some point.”

Persichilli said officials expect the number of cases in New Jersey to jump further in the coming days and urged residents to practice “social distancing.” She added the “spread of this disease will be stopped at the community level.”

“We expect them to increase from North Jersey to South Jersey,” Persichilli said. “We expect everyone will take the precautions necessary that we have discussed and shared over and over and over again.”

Officials also said Saturday they will no longer use the phrase “presumptive positive cases” because the federal Centers for Disease Control said all positive tests conducted in public health labs are now considered confirmed.

Meanwhile, officials announced the state is working with Bergen County to set up New Jersey’s first “widespread” coronavirus testing site, to be opened by Monday at Bergen County Community College in Paramus.

Persichilli said only those who show symptoms of the virus will be tested.

She also said there currently are 26 pending tests at the state laboratory.

And Persichilli announced a second hospital, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, began testing at its lab Thursday. But she didn’t have information on pending tests outside the state lab.

“I have absolutely no idea what is pending at the commercial labs and at the hospital labs,” Persichelli said.

As for schools, Murphy said Friday that a long-term shutdown of public schools across the state is “inevitable." On Saturday, the governor said officials are not yet “in a position to make a specific announcement on that."

“We are close,” he said. “In a matter of days.”

As of Saturday, 400 of the state’s 600 public school district had notified the state of planned closures, officials said.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Corrections is temporarily suspending visits at state prisons and halfway houses for the next 30 days.

And municipal court sessions in New Jersey will be suspended for two weeks to reduce exposure to the virus.

On Thursday, Murphy recommended all public gatherings with 250 people or more be canceled. He said Saturday he has “heard of no blatant violation” of the recommendation so far, but he reserves the right to make it a mandate if needed.

“We’ll continue to keep our eye on it,” the governor said.

Murphy said there are still no plans to require Atlantic City casinos to shutter gambling because while there may be 250 people on a casino floor at any given time, the “enormous expanse” of those buildings allow for people to keep their distance from each other.

The governor also said he spoke with Vice President Mike Pence on Friday night about the federal response to the virus. Murphy said he thanked Pence for personal protective equipment the federal government sent to New Jersey but “pleaded with him that we needed more.”

In addition, nine people who were on the Grand Princess cruise ship will soon arrive in New Jersey at Newark Liberty International Airport, officials said. The ship docked in California last week with 21 passengers testing positive for the virus.

The first coronavirus death in New Jersey, a 69-year-old man from Bergen County, was announced Tuesday.

Another suspected coronavirus death of a patient in Monmouth County remains under investigation, and the test was expected to be completed Saturday, Persichilli said.

The full county-by-county breakdown of total cases in New Jersey:

Bergen: 25, according to the state. County officials have raised that number to 31

Middlesex: 10

Monmouth: 8

Essex: 7

Hudson: 5

Burlington: 3

Morris: 3

Camden: 2

Passaic: 2

Mercer: 1

Ocean: 1

Somerset: 1

Union: 1

The novel coronavirus, which causes the illness COVID-19, has three main symptoms: fever, cough, and shortness of breath. They usually develop 2-14 days after exposure to the virus, according to the CDC.

There have more than 155,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus across the globe — more than 2,500 in the U.S., according to a running tally by the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

Of that number, more than 5,800 people have died, while more than 72,500 have recovered.

All but one U.S. state — West Virginia — has at least one case, according to a map by the New York Times. New Jersey has the seventh-most cases of any state.

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





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

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

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.