New Jersey on Saturday reported 3,599 new positive tests and 251 new coronavirus deaths, boosting the statewide total to at least 58,151 cases and 2,183 fatalities, as the peak number of hospitalizations and cases gets closer but officials begin to see glimmers of hope.

Now a month removed from the state’s first death from COVID-19, Gov. Phil Murphy said the Garden State continues to see see signs the rate of infection is slowing. He noted this is the seventh straight day the state has seen 10% or less growth in the number of cases.

But Murphy continued to stress New Jersey hasn’t seen its apex yet and residents still need to stay home and practice social distancing to help halt the spread and ensure hospitals can handle the influx of patients. That is especially true, he said, during Easter on Sunday.

“I know hearing the daily numbers can be scary," Murphy said during his Saturday afternoon coronavirus press briefing in Trenton. "But we cannot let up.”

“We’re not in the end zone, folks. We’re not even first and goal," he added. "Stay the course. Stay with us. Keep pounding the curve down.”

New Jersey, a state of 9 million residents, continues to be one of the nation’s biggest coronavirus hot spots, reporting more COVID-19 cases and deaths than any U.S. state except New York.

MORE RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED

Meanwhile, Murphy signed an executive order Saturday with more restrictions aimed at increasing social distancing to reduce the virus’ spread and preserve hospital capacity. The governor said he is cutting NJ Transit trains and buses to 50% capacity and requiring employees and riders to wear face coverings.

And he’s requiring people to wear face coverings when getting takeout or delivery inside restaurants and bars in New Jersey. You don’t have to when getting curbside takeout from your car.

The newest restrictions take effect Monday at 8 p.m.

“I know for some of you, you may view this as just another inconvenience,” Murphy said Saturday during his daily coronavirus press briefing in Trenton. “Remembering to bring your face covering to the supermarket, or now to pickup your takeout order, may be a hassle. But you know what would be really inconvenient? If you ended up in the hospital with COVID-19, or you inadvertently infected a family member — maybe even an older generation.”

The governor’s announcement comes two days after he cut the number of people allowed to be in New Jersey stores to 50% capacity and required people to wear face coverings when inside the stores.

LATEST N.J. STATISTICS

Officials said there are 7,618 people currently hospitalized in New Jersey with the virus or suspected of having it. Of those, 1,746 are in critical care and 1,650 are on ventilators — which is 56.2% of the state’s ventilator capacity, officials said.

Still, officials also revealed New Jersey is running low on its supply of ventilators, with only 61 reserve machines left in the state’s stockpile. Some anesthesia machines are being converted to ventilators, officials said.

“We’re literally at the edge,” Murphy said.

The state has not released figures for how many people have recovered from the illness. But over the last 24 hours, 682 people with the virus have been discharged from hospitals in the state.

“While the numbers of our fellow residents in the hospital in critical or intensive care is daunting, there are hundreds of people each day leaving the hospital," Murphy said. "Those are folks that have gotten to a much better place. This should give us hope.”

Despite numbers released on a daily basis, it’s difficult for health officials to get a full picture of how many people in New Jersey currently have the coronavirus or have died from it. That’s because the state is testing only residents showing symptoms of COVID-19, and officials say the backlog of test results is as long as 14 days.

The state is also not reporting significant increases in daily testing, so it’s unclear how quickly the virus is actually spreading.

Officials have said New Jersey could see the peak number of hospitalizations during this Easter weekend. State Health Commissioner did not have an updated date Saturday, but said the peak is now projected to include 15,922 patients hospitalized with the virus or under investigation for it, including 3,821 in critical care. She said those numbers change every day.

Separately, officials have said the state’s peak number of cases is projected to occur between April 19 and May 11, with New Jersey’s grand total reaching anywhere between 86,000 and 509,000 cases.

“We expect next two to three weeks to be especially stressful and difficult for our hospitals and longterm care facilities,” Persichilli said Saturday.

But the health commissioner added that she believes New Jersey "will have enough bed spaces for everyone.” The state announced a tiered plan to house patients — including using closed hospitals, field hospitals, hotels, and college dormitories.

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN EACH COUNTY

Here is the latest county-by-county breakdown of confirmed cases as of early Saturday afternoon, according to the state coronavirus tracking website:

Bergen County: 9,362 cases, with 435 deaths

Essex County: 7,007 cases, with 412 deaths

Hudson County: 6,851 cases, with 183 deaths

Union County: 5,865 cases, with 195 deaths

Middlesex County: 5,406 cases, with 177 deaths

Passaic County: 5,295 cases, with 119 deaths

Monmouth County: 3,651 cases, with 115 deaths

Ocean County: 3,403 cases, with 132 deaths

Morris County: 2,925 cases, with 152 deaths

Somerset County: 1,642 cases, with 78 deaths

Mercer County: 1,434 cases, with 49 deaths

Camden County: 1,180 cases, with 29 deaths

Burlington County: 1,031 cases, with 22 deaths

Gloucester County: 487 cases, with 9 deaths

Sussex County: 456 cases, with 27 deaths

Warren County: 362 cases, with 18 deaths

Hunterdon County: 301 cases, with 11 deaths

Atlantic County: 230 cases, with 7 deaths

Cumberland County: 154 cases, with 3 deaths

Cape May County: 129 cases, with 5 deaths

Salem County: 56 cases, with 3 deaths

Persichilli said 111,410 coronavirus tests have been conducted in the state since the outbreak began. The positivity rate is 44.3%.

UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS

Officials said they know the underlying conditions for 1,083 of the state’s total COVID-19 deaths as of Saturday:

29% had cardiovascular disease

17% had diabetes mellitus

15% had other chronic diseases

10% had chronic lung disease, emphysema, COPD or asthma

7% had chronic renal disease

7% had neurologic or neuro-developmental disabilities

6% had cancer

6% had other conditions

3% had no known conditions

This is the racial breakdown among 1,350 of the state’s COVID-19 victims who died:

704 (52%) white

298 (22%) black

237 (17%) Hispanic

79 (6%) Asian

38 (3%) other races

Both of the state’s mass government-run testing sites — in Paramus and Holmdel — will be closed on Easter Sunday, Murphy said.

New Jersey continues to be in near-lockdown mode to fight the virus, with Murphy last month ordering residents to stay at home, banning social gatherings, closing schools, and ordering non-essential retail businesses to close until further notice.

Murphy has said he does not know when he will lift the restrictions but cautioned that it won’t be soon, to help prevent the virus from returning in the future.

As of Saturday morning, the virus had infected more than 1.7 million people across the globe, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. Of those, more than 103,000 have died and more than 389,000 have recovered.

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

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