N.J. reports 1,561 COVID cases, 12 deaths. Nearly 7.5M have received at least 1 vaccine dose. – NJ.com

New Jersey on Thursday reported another 1,561 COVID-19 cases and 12 deaths as the state nears 7.5 million people who have gotten at least one vaccine dose.

The Garden States seven-day average for confirmed positive tests increased to 1,165, up 10% from a week ago but down 18% from a month ago.

The statewide rate of transmission remained 0.97 for the second straight day. Any transmission rate above 1 indicates that each infected person is passing the virus to at least one other person.

There were 676 patients hospitalized with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases across New Jerseys 71 hospitals with COVID-19 as of Wednesday night. Thats 20 more than the night before.

There were 66 patients discharged in the 24 hours leading up to Wednesday night. Of those hospitalized, 138 were in intensive care (the same as the night before), with 60 on ventilators (one less than the night before).

The statewide positivity rate for tests conducted Saturday, the most recent day available, was 5.35%.

New Jerseys daily coronavirus numbers have gradually improved in recent weeks after a late-summer surge. But officials warn the figures might spike again as cooler weather forces more people inside and people gather for the holidays.

New Jersey, an early epicenter of the pandemic, has now reported 28,146 total COVID-19 deaths 25,328 confirmed and 2,818 considered probable in the more than 20 months since the start of the outbreak.

The state has the third-most coronavirus deaths per capita in the U.S., behind Mississippi and Alabama.

New Jersey has reported 1,054,137 total confirmed cases out of the nearly 16 million PCR tests conducted since it announced its first case March 4, 2020. The state has also reported more than 159,109 positive antigen or rapid tests, which are considered probable cases.

The delta variant of the virus, which is more contagious than previous variants, now represents 100% of all cases circulating, state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli has said.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

More than 6.1 million people who live, work or study in New Jersey a state of about 9.2 million residents have now been fully vaccinated.

Nearly 7.5 million people in the state have received at least one dose, and about 830,000 people have received third doses or boosters.

Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday there were 9,116 New Jerseyans between the ages of 5 to 11 have so far gotten their first dose.

The governor said increased vaccinations among younger students could ultimately make it safe to drop mask mandates in schools.

There have been 160 in-school outbreaks across New Jersey among students and staff this academic year leading to 860 cases. Those numbers are cumulative and do not reflect active infections.

In-school outbreaks, which are reported weekly by the state, are defined as three or more cases that are determined through contact tracing to have been transmitted among staff or students while at school. They do not include total cases among staff and students.

As of Monday, the state reported a total of 44,955 cases among fully vaccinated people leading to 1,002 hospitalizations and 258 deaths, though those represent a small percentage total cases.

From Oct. 17 to 24, the state had 11,615 positive tests. Of those, 1,924 were from fully vaccinated people and those cases led to 29 hospitalizations (out of 762 total) and no deaths (out of 132 total).

Ten of New Jerseys 21 counties are listed as having high rates of coronavirus transmission, while 11 are listed with substantial transmission, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC is recommending that all people in the high and substantial transmission counties wear masks for indoor public settings regardless of vaccination status.

At least 8,657 of the states COVID-19 deaths have been among residents and staff members at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to state data. There are active outbreaks at 126 facilities, resulting in 655 current cases among residents and 535 among staffers.

As of Thursday, there have been more than 251 million positive COVID-19 cases reported across the world, according to Johns Hopkins University, with more than 5 million people having died due to the virus. The U.S. has reported the most cases (more than 46.8 million) and deaths (more than 759,000) of any nation.

There have been more than 7.3 billion vaccine doses administered globally.

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

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N.J. reports 1,561 COVID cases, 12 deaths. Nearly 7.5M have received at least 1 vaccine dose. - NJ.com