Health officials in New Jersey announced on Wednesday that the first case of the more contagious coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa has been confirmed in the state.
The case in Hudson County brings the total number of cases found in New Jersey to 145, said State Department Commissioner Judy Persichilli.
“We assume they are in our midst,” said Gov. Phil Murphy.
The announcement comes a week after two more infectious variants – including the first cases of variants originally identified in Brazil and New York – were identified in the state.
Murphy cited the uncertainty over variants as a reason why he was wary of lifting more New Jersey restrictions. On Wednesday, he announced that restaurants, bars, casinos, gyms, personal care services and entertainment venues would be allowed to expand to 50% on March 19th. Restrictions inside and out will also increase on the same day.
The vast majority of the 145 cases came from the variant discovered in the United Kingdom, which was found in 19 of 21 provinces:
- Atlantic Ocean – 1
- Bergen – 3
- Burlington – 14
- Camden – 1
- Cape May – 2
- Essex – 9
- Gloucester – 1
- Hudson – 10 (also 2 Brazilian, one South African variant)
- Dealer – 6
- Middlesex – 15
- Monmouth – 25
- Morris – 8
- Ocean – 29
- Passengers – 4
- Salem – 1
- Somerset – 3
- Sussex – 1
- Union – 6
- Warren – 2
Although the second wave of the pandemic has subsided in recent weeks and vaccinations continue, officials have warned that cases and hospitalizations in New Jersey could rise as the variants spread.
Health officials in New Jersey reported another 3,047 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 56 additional confirmed deaths on Wednesday.
In total, New Jersey has now reported 729,403 confirmed cases of coronavirus. The condition of about 9 million people reported that 23,768 residents died from complications related to COVID-19, including 21,294 confirmed deaths and 2,744 deaths considered probable.
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Matt Arco can be reached at [email protected].