Coronavirus New Jersey: Gov. Murphy Announces Joint Contact Tracing Program With New York, Connecticut As Deaths Pass 5,000 In Garden State
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- Gov. Phil Murphy says flattening the curve appears to be working in New Jersey. More than 5,000 people have now died from COVID-19 in New Jersey, as the Garden State begins work with our neighbors on a reopening strategy.
Murphy announced another 3,500 coronavirus cases and more than 300 deaths on Wednesday.
He described the numbers as heartbreaking but they confirm that the spread of the virus remains manageable for the health care system.
Also on Wednesday, the seven-state regional council met for the first time to talk about a coordinated reopening strategy. There is no big news to report out of that meeting.
There was also a tri-state meeting with officials from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. They talked about the formation of a joint contact tracing program that could help find and isolate small outbreaks of COVID-19 in the future.
"In particular, our three states are working on a contact tracing program that includes not just human components, but also a technological one, as well," Murphy said.
"The virus doesn't stop at jurisdictional boundaries," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
The program has been dubbed "an army of tracers," according to Cuomo.
On Wednesday, Cuomo explained that the program will train those who will be collecting data on the spread of COVID-19 in the tri-state area. New York has already started tracing with about 500 tracers.
"We can put together people, we can organize, we can train and we can do it," Cuomo said. "Yes, it's a big deal but it's what we have to do and it's what we will do."
Cuomo says the program will be developed by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Murphy says tracing COVID-19 to its points of contact will help contain the virus.
CBS3's Cleve Bryan and Kimberly Davis contributed to this report.
