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New York and New Jersey Both Record Most New Virus Cases Since Mid-May

New York and New Jersey Both Record Most New Virus Cases Since Mid-May

New York and New Jersey recorded the most new Covid-19 cases in more than four months, as one state official warned of fewer health-care workers to combat a potential second wave.

New York recorded 1,836 positives of 145,811 tests conducted Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Thursday on a virus briefing conference call. That was the highest one-day total since May 20.

New Jersey reported 1,301 new cases, the most since May 19. The state hadn’t exceeded 1,000 new positives in a single day since May 29, and Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said authorities “are anticipating a second wave.”

“Unlike March and April, when health-care workers from other states came to New Jersey to help out, those workers are now fully engaged in fighting this virus in their own states,” Persichilli said at a Trenton news conference.

Mask Up

New Jersey has other troubling signs. The 652 people hospitalized was the highest figure since Aug. 5. Among 3,000 schools, 16 have outbreaks, with a total 58 cases. On Sept. 30, the virus was in 11 schools and linked to 43 cases.

Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat in his first term, said he was “extremely disappointed” that President Donald Trump on Monday night told Americans not to let the virus dominate their lives. In seven months, Murphy said, Covid-19 has killed almost 11 times the number of New Jerseyans who died of flu in 2018-2019.

“To say this virus isn’t still with us, to say it isn’t virulent, to say it could not take your life is completely false,” Murphy said in Trenton. He urged New Jerseyans to continue to take infection precautions and added: “For those of you who haven’t, for crying out loud, wake up.”

New York reported 754 hospitalizations and 10 virus-related fatalities and statewide positivity of 1.01%, excluding 20 hot spots. Positivity is 5.8% in those areas -- in Queens, Brooklyn, and Orange and Rockland counties -- where large Orthodox Jewish communities have gathered in recent weeks for religious holidays.

Science and Math

“The rules were never enforced in these communities,” said Cuomo, who this week limited attendance at houses of worship to a maximum of 10 people in areas with the most positive cases.

“There’s always been opposition to some of these rules, but the rules have been proven over time to work,” he said. “This is still science and math at the end of the day.”

In New Jersey, where positivity is 3.69%, cases more than doubled in 24 hours. One town, Lakewood, accounted for 72% of Ocean County’s 285 new cases even as a surge of contact tracers is trying to contain spread among the Orthodox faithful after their gatherings.

Both states’ governors pointed out that although the insular religious communities have high numbers, spread is taking hold in many other areas. A cluster in Binghamton, 177 miles (285 kilometers) northwest of New York City, has suspected links to bars and restaurants.

In New Jersey, Murphy said 80 new cases each were reported in Bergen, Essex, Middlesex, Passaic and Union counties, areas that were hit early and hard by the pandemic.

“It’s people congregating in close quarters, indoors,” Murphy said.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.