Coronavirus New Jersey: State's COVID-19 Death Toll Climbs By 379, Biggest Spike Yet
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey's COVID-19 death toll saw its biggest spike yet, climbing by 379 deaths, Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday. The spike comes as the number of new cases has been leveling off, the first-term Democrat said at a news conference.
New Jersey has had 4,753 deaths from the virus and more than 92,000 cases, up from about 89,000.
Despite some positive signs, like the leveling off of cases and the increasing time it takes for the number of people with COVID-19 to double, Murphy said there are still weeks to go of social distancing.
"We cannot rush to reopen anything and risk undoing all the extraordinary work you've done so far," Murphy said.
A look at other developments:
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NEW FIELD HOSPITAL
Murphy also on Tuesday toured the state's third and newest field hospital to open during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Atlantic City Convention Center field hospital is aimed at alleviating pressure on local hospitals and will treat non-coronavirus patients in 258 beds. Rows of one-bed units line the Convention Center floor, and the hospital also includes an on-site pharmacy and lab testing center.
The U.S. Army Corps of engineers and the state have already opened two other similar field hospitals, a 250-bed facility in Secaucus and a 500-bed pop-up site in Edison.
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MURPHY APPROVAL SOARS
A new poll from Monmouth University out Tuesday showed the governor's approval rating climbing by 30 points.
The governor's job approval rating climbed to 71% up from 41% in September. Murphy's disapproval rating also shrank, from 38% in September to 21% in the latest survey.
The poll was conducted by telephone from April 16 to 19 with 704 New Jersey adults. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press.
