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New Jersey Surpasses 150,000 Coronavirus Cases as Rate Holds Steady

New Jersey Surpasses 150,000 Coronavirus Cases as Rate Holds Steady

(Bloomberg) -- New Jersey exceeded 150,000 coronavirus cases as Governor Phil Murphy announced that Walmart will begin offering self-swab tests three days a week outside its stores.

Residents can make appointments for the exams through Quest.com, Murphy said at a news briefing.

The state reached 150,399 cases after adding 1,670, a 0.9% increase that matched the rate of the past seven days. The death toll reached 10,747 with 168 new fatalities, the sixth-straight day of fewer than 200.

Hospitalizations, at 3,405, were less than half their peak, Murphy said. Of 969 patients in intensive-care units, 750 were on ventilators. Though 282 coronavirus patients were discharged, 261 were admitted over the past 24 hours. The governor called the hospital data “the most significant known metrics” to guide the state’s reopening.

In a New Jersey first, the consumer affairs division this week authorized 18,000 pharmacists to give Covid-19 tests without a prescription. That, plus the Walmart plan and a similar one by CVS to offer self-swab kits by the end of the month, will mark New Jersey’s biggest expansion of testing. Murphy has said the state must increase those exams before he lifts social distancing and other restrictions enacted March 21 to slow the disease’s spread.

Murphy hasn’t given a date for when he expects businesses, workplaces and government services to return to normal, saying he first wants widespread use of a yet-to-be-developed vaccine. New Jersey is in the first of three reopening stages, he has said, and residents must abide by “safeguarding and modifications” at every step.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.