By GWEN OREL
orel@montclairlocal.news
The impact of reopening state, county, and — in Montclair, at least — municipal parks will be an important indicator for a wider reopening for the state, though that impact will not be clear for some weeks.
The number of COVID-19 cases continued to rise Sunday, May 3, with 3,027 new cases announced, giving the state a total of 126,744 positives. New Jersey also announced 119 more deaths, for a total of 7,871. The increases announced Saturday were 2,651 cases and 205 deaths.
The township Health Department report states that the confirmed number of COVID-19 cases have risen from 373 yesterday to 374; the mortalities from the illness remain at 44.
In order to respect the privacy of these individuals and their families, no further information can be provided regarding cases or deaths that have occurred in Montclair.
Since last Sunday, more than 17,700 New Jersey residents have tested positive for the virus, and the virus is responsible for more than 1,900 deaths statewide in that time frame. The prior week (April 19-26) saw the state announce more than 23,000 new positive tests and more than 1,700 deaths.
As of May 3, 246,410 tests have been reported, out of which 40.1 percent have been positive; a week ago, the positive rate was 43 percent.
As has been the case for several weeks, the governor did not hold a press briefing today. Instead, the state reported the numbers on its website.
Murphy also said that state officials will watch the situation with parks carefully, and if there is noncompliance to social distancing rules, or if the state sees a spike in cases, the parks will close again.
Sunday’s numbers for Montclair are not yet available. On Saturday, Montclair reported three new COVID-19 positives, with the town total rising to 374, while 44 residents have died from the virus.
Yesterday, Murphy said that while the cases are rising, it is not clear whether that is because there is an increase in infections or an increase for New Jerseyans in having access to testing capabilities. The governor announced earlier this week that the state will soon receive more than a half-million test kits from the federal government.
New Jersey is only testing residents showing symptoms of the virus, and many of those infected show few or no symptoms, so it is likely that the actual number of infected residents is far higher than the official reported number.
Federal aid funding is also on its way to New Jersey, Murphy announced yesterday: 53 New Jersey hospitals will receive $1.7 billion next week. It is the second-largest amount of funding awarded to any state, behind New York, he said.
According to Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli Saturday, there has been a 41 percent decrease in hospitalizations in northern New Jersey since the peak on April 14.
On Friday night, 525 people were discharged, and 378 admitted.
The ages of COVID-19 positives and deceased, according to the state of New Jersey in a chart showing numbers from May 1 (the chart is below), show that 64.1 percent of positive cases are people aged 30-64, higher than those aged 65 and up, which amount to 23.9 percent of all positive cases.
However, the number of those who have died from COVID-19 show is 72.2 percent. People aged 18 to 64 only amount to 27.5 percent of all deaths.
Essex County still leads every county in New Jersey with the highest number of deaths, at 1,282. It ranks third in number of cases, with 14,521, following Hudson County (15,769) and Bergen County (16,185).
Essex County Coronavirus Cases
Updated: Sunday, May 3, 2020
| Cumulative Confirmed COVID-19 Cases and Deaths
Essex County, NJ |
|||
| Municipality | 5/2/20 5pm | 5/3/20 9am | Deaths 5/3/20 am |
| Belleville | 856 | 856 | 47 |
| Bloomfield | 881 | 888 | 46 |
| Caldwell | 99 | 99 | 6 |
| Cedar Grove | 328 | 332 | 74 |
| East Orange | 1530 | 1545 | 136 |
| Essex Fells | 18 | 18 | 2 |
| Fairfield | 115 | 115 | 13 |
| Glen Ridge | 33 | 33 | 7 |
| Irvington | 1160 | 1166 | 117 |
| Livingston | 403 | 405 | 53 |
| Maplewood | 262 | 263 | 21 |
| Millburn | 122 | 123 | 4 |
| Montclair | 365 | 366 | 38 |
| Newark | 5751 | 5805 | 443 |
| North Caldwell | 38 | 38 | 4 |
| Nutley | 435 | 433 | 30 |
| Orange | 723 | 730 | 52 |
| Roseland | 71 | 73 | 13 |
| South Orange | 84 | 84 | 3 |
| Verona | 105 | 106 | 11 |
| West Caldwell | 189 | 189 | 34 |
| West Orange | 956 | 957 | 128 |
| Total | 14524 | 14624 | 1282 |
| Negative tests (County) | 14513 | 15054 | |
| Statewide positive | 123717 | ||
| Statewide deaths | 7742 | ||
- The number of infected individuals in any municipality is likely to be much greater than indicated as this data only includes persons who have been tested and whose lab results have been reported in the State’s data system.
- This data will not match any other report since cases are continually entering the system and local health departments may reassign place of residence as appropriate during their investigations.
Essex County: Demographics of Individuals with Confirmed COVID-19
Updated 5/1/20
Age Group
| Frequency | Percent | ||
| Valid | 0 to 4 | 48 | .3 |
| 5 to 17 | 164 | 1.1 | |
| 18 to 29 | 1477 | 10.3 | |
| 30 to 49 | 4826 | 33.8 | |
| 50 to 64 | 4336 | 30.3 | |
| 65 to 79 | 2242 | 15.7 | |
| 80+ | 1174 | 8.2 | |
| Total | 14267 | 99.8 | |
| Missing | System | 30 | .2 |
| Total | 14297 | 100.0 | |
Gender
| Frequency | Percent | ||
| Valid | FEMALE | 7319 | 51.2 |
| MALE | 6942 | 48.6 | |
| UNKNOWN | 36 | .3 | |
| Total | 14297 | 100.0 | |
Essex County: Demographics of Deceased Individuals with Confirmed COVID19
Updated 5/1/20
Age Group of Deceased
| Frequency | Percent | ||
| Valid | 5 to 17 | 1 | .1 |
| 18 to 29 | 9 | .7 | |
| 30 to 49 | 69 | 5.5 | |
| 50 to 64 | 276 | 22.0 | |
| 65 to 79 | 458 | 36.5 | |
| 80+ | 440 | 35.1 | |
| Total | 1253 | 99.8 | |
| Missing | System | 2 | .2 |
| Total | 1255 | 100.0 | |
Gender of Deceased
| Frequency | Percent | ||
| Valid | FEMALE | 553 | 44.1 |
| MALE | 702 | 55.9 | |
| Total | 1255 | 100.0 | |