Coronavirus New Jersey: Gov. Phil Murphy Closes Public Schools Through May 15 As COVID-19 Cases Reach 75,000
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- New Jersey public schools will be closed through the middle of May due to the coronavirus pandemic. The decision to shutdown schools until May 15 came Thursday after Gov. Murphy reported 4,391 additional coronavirus cases. The statewide total now stands at 75,317.
"We need to be guided by where the facts on the ground, science, and public health take us," Murphy said. "That means it will not be safe to reopen our schools for at least another four weeks."
The death toll continues to rise as another 362 deaths were reported, bringing the state's total to 3,518.
"We've now lost 3,518 members of our New Jersey family to this virus. Social distancing doesn't seem so much of an inconvenience if it means that we don't have to keep mourning so many blessed souls," Murphy said.
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He says New Jersey has lost more residents to the coronavirus than during World War I.
As of 10 p.m. Wednesday, there were 8,224 patients hospitalized, with 2,014 in critical condition or in the intensive care unit, and 1,645 ventilators were in use.
Perhaps the best consolation is the rate of serious infection continues to slow. New hospitalizations remain flat and the number of COVID-19 patients being discharged is up more than 10% day-to-day.
"Our efforts, folks, are working. We're not home yet by any means, but our efforts are working," Murphy said.
The extended stay-at-home has online gambling numbers up more than 65% in New Jersey, but that does little to offset the closure of Garden State gambling halls.
Overall, casino revenue is down $130 million -- that's 44%.
About 9,000 casino workers in Unite Here Local 54 are now unemployed after the Tropicana finally ended assistance pay.
Social distancing requirements and an overall weakened economy will have a lingering impact on casino workers, even after businesses are allowed to reopen.
"For sure, it's not going to from zero to a hundred overnight. It will take a while for them to build the business back up, so it will be a slow rebuild, we expect," Unite Here Local 54 treasurer Donna DeCaprio said.
Meanwhile, more soldiers from Fort Campbell have deployed to help with coronavirus relief efforts. About 10 soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division's sustainment brigade deployed this week to New Jersey to help with coordinating and supporting Army logistical efforts in the region, according to a statement from the Army post on the Kentucky-Tennessee line.
An additional 5.2 million people, including 140,600 New Jerseyans, filed for unemployment last week as layoffs continue to engulf the U.S. economy throughout the health crisis.
CBS3's Cleve Bryan contributed to this report.
