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NJ Nears 160K Total COVID-19 Cases, Reports 113 More Deaths

Sign up for WCBS 880's daily newsletter for the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.TRENTON (WCBS 880) – Gov. Phil Murphy said Saturday that New Jersey had more than 900 new cases of the coronavirus and over 100 more deaths.Murphy said there were 910 positive cases of COVID-19 since Friday.The state’s total number of cases is now 159,608.The governor said there were 2,626 people hospitalized in the state, with 672 in critical or intensive care and 499 on ventilators.NEW: NJ has 910 new confirmed positive cases of #COVID19, pushing our total to 159,608. Of those cases:➡️2,626 are in hospitals➡️672 are in critical or intensive care➡️499 are on ventilatorsSadly, we’ve lost 113 more New Jerseyans, pushing our total to 11,634 lives lost. pic.twitter.com/dxDqqq9rUP— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) May 30, 2020 Another 113 New Jerseyans had died from the virus since Friday, Murphy said, bringing the state’s death toll to 11,634.Murphy announced Friday that more sectors of the state's coronavirus-shuttered economy could begin reopening.The governor said horse racing can begin as soon as next weekend, while child-care centers can open on June 15.Organized sports can return a week later, and day camps can be back by July 6.The Associated Press contributed to this report.Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

May 30, 2020

Cuomo: Focus Is On 10 NYC 'Hotspots' As City Prepares To Reopen June 8

Sign up for WCBS 880's daily newsletter for the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday that New York City will begin reopening on June 8 and that two Upstate regions may enter Phase 2 soon.Cuomo said Friday that New York City was on pace to reopen June 8. He emphasized Saturday that it would reopen on that day, a week from Monday.“We have work to do still, but we’ll get it done by June 8,” Cuomo said.As we reopen NYC we are laser-focused on the 10 hotspots where infection rates are highest.It is not just coincidence that the hotspots are in low-income and minority communities.The inequality in health outcomes of this pandemic is just one of countless inequalities.— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) May 30, 2020 He said the state will focus on the city’s hospital system to make sure it’s prepared going forward after “we learned painful lessons.”Cuomo said there are 10 hotspot ZIP codes in the city that are being focused on; six of them are in the Bronx, three are in Brooklyn and one is in Queens."We want to focus on the 10 hotspots," Cuomo said. "Those areas that we have identified through testing, where we are still generating new cases."Cuomo said some of the hotspots have an infection rate of over 50 percent, while the city has an overall infection rate of 19 or 20 percent. Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Office The three ZIP codes with the highest infection rates are: 10457 (51 percent positive); 10460 (50 percent positive); and 10468 (50 percent positive).Cuomo said ten more testing sites are being added to the areas and that "better health care connections" are being developed in the communities.The governor also said two regions—the Capital region and Western New York—end their 14 days in Phase 1 this upcoming week and that the state will make a decision on whether the regions can now enter Phase 2.Cuomo also announced that he was signing a bill granting death benefits to the families of police officers, public health workers and other front-line workers who have died of the coronavirus."You gave your lives for us, we will be there for your families going forward,'' Cuomo said as he signed the legislation.The bill passed by state lawmakers this past week provides an accidental death benefit that is more substantial than the regular death benefit that public workers' families receive.Dozens of police officers, public health workers, transit workers and paramedics have died of COVID-19 in the months since New York became the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States.Cuomo said new hospitalizations for COVID-19 in the state Saturday were “way down” at 178. He said intubations and total hospitalizations were also continuing their downward trend.There were 67 new deaths since Friday, he said, the same number of deaths that were reported Friday.He said the number of deaths was “an all-time low” and that the state has made “tremendous progress” since the peak of the outbreak, when over 700 were dying a day.The Associated Press contributed to this report.Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

May 30, 2020

NYPD: Man Shot By Officers Later Dies Of Coronavirus

NEW YORK (AP) — A man shot by New York City police last month after menacing officers with a knife and an antique gun died of the coronavirus five days after he was wounded, police said Thursday.Ricardo Cardona, 55, repeatedly told officers “please kill me” as he ignored orders to drop the weapons, body camera footage of the April 1 shooting in the Bronx shows.Cardona, who called 911 on himself to draw police attention, later told investigators he wanted to die because he had recently tested positive for the virus, Sgt. Carlos Nieves said in a video describing the incident.“Mr. Cardona informed investigators that he was recently diagnosed with COVID-19 and as a result wanted to die by ‘suicide by cop,’” Nieves said.Officers fired 11 shots at Cardona and struck him seven times in the torso and lower extremities, but preliminary autopsy findings showed his cause of death was coronavirus, with his wounds and underlying health conditions listed as complicating factors, Nieves said.Most people who get the virus recover, experiencing mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough. It can cause pneumonia and be deadly for the elderly or infirm.A message seeking comment was left with the city’s medical examiner’s office.Cardona was holding a 12-inch tactical knife in one hand and a Civil War-era cap-and-ball revolver in the other as Officers Xavier Marcus and Cindy Nieves responded to a 911 call about a man walking the streets wielding a bloody knife around 4 a.m., police said.Cell phone records and apartment building security video showed it was Cardona who called 911, calmly describing himself to a dispatcher before cutting off the call and walking to the intersection where he encountered the officers. Cardona’s gun was later determined to be inoperable, Sgt. Nieves said.Cardona, who was initially hospitalized in stable condition, had faced charges including attempted assault, menacing of a police officer and criminal possession of a weapon as a result of the incident. The case was dropped upon his death.

May 29, 2020

Social Distancing Ambassadors Will Remind New Yorkers To Stay 6-Feet Apart

Sign up for WCBS 880's daily newsletter for the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — After criticism of the NYPD’s enforcement of social distancing guidelines, the city is using more and more so-called “social distancing ambassadors.”The city, hoping to avoid confrontations with the police, has built a team of 2,300 social distancing ambassadors to patrol parks and other public areas, remining people to keep apart. The ambassadors are New York City employees from the Parks Department, FDNY, Buildings Department and Corrections Department. Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver, who heads the program, says their primary goal is to educate residents. “If there is a large crowd, our social distant ambassador will call a supervisor and they will make a determination if we have to call our parks enforcement patrol or NYPD if it's a very large crowd,” he explains. Ambassadors will also be handing out free masks to people that are not wearing one. “We're encouraging people to wear them, we are educating them, but we will not issue a violation if somebody is not wearing a face covering,” Silver notes.He does encourage anyone exercising in city parks to wear a face covering that they can pull around their neck to take occasional deep breaths. Silver notes that anyone in public should wear a face covering where social distancing is not easily practiced.Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

May 29, 2020

Foye: MTA Preparing For Ridership Surge When NYC Enters Phase 1

Sign up for WCBS 880's daily newsletter for the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The MTA is preparing for a surge in ridership when New York City enters Phase 1 of reopening. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday announced New York City is prepared to begin the first phase of reopening on June 8, and the MTA expects 400,000 people will be heading back to work using mass transportation. MTA Chairman and CEO Pat Foye spoke with WCBS 880’s Michael Wallace about the agency’s plan moving forward.Q: How is this going to work a week from Monday?A: It’s a multi-step, multidimensional program which begins with masks and masks. Every one of our employees is wearing a mask, it's mandatory. Riding the Long Island Rail Road, subways, buses – it seems to me that the compliance by our employees is 100%. Masks for all the customers, as well, the governor has mandated that that's incredibly important. The CDC agrees, so it's gonna be masks, masks.We're continuing to disinfect every subway car, every bus and every station nightly. We are pursuing some disinfecting innovations which were piloting this very week – ultraviolet light. We're also working with providers of antimicrobials to make sure that we've got the highest and best technology, in terms of continuing to disinfect subways, buses and stations.I sent a letter out to the business community recommending that all employers in the city of New York stagger their hours and stagger their start and stop times. I’m not asking that it be mandated but recommending it and encouraging. I know that a lot of large and mid-sized employers in the city of New York have already taken that step and that's really important.With respect to social distance on subways, as the governor has said a number of times now, social distance is not going to be possible on the subways not today, not on June 8th, when Phase 1 begins, but when significant volumes of passengers return. So passengers will be able to protect themselves and employees and their co-commuters by wearing masks. if someone doesn't have a mask, go to a different call or walk down the platform.The NYPD and the MTA police will be available as necessary but we're seeing a high degree of compliance by our customers across the system.Q: You mentioned the cleaning and disinfecting will continue. Will the nightly subway shutdowns continue for the cleaning?A: The nightly shut downs from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. will continue while the pandemic continues.Q: Do you suspect now that the hundreds of thousands of people are probably coming back to work, that a lot of them will need to hit the road before 5 a.m. and what will the accommodations be for them?A: We have a central connector program in place, robust additional bus service and for hire vehicles for whom the bus service doesn't work, we'll be monitoring that closely. I ought to note that we have the ability – as we did on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North when we announced their Long Island, Hudson Valley return – as New York City returns in Phase 1 of the governor's New York on PAUSE, we will be adding additional subway and bus service that is possible in large part by the fact that over 9,000 MTA employees have returned from home quarantine. That's incredibly good news for each of those employees, but it's also a sign of their commitment and dedication to public service and it will make possible adding additional service on subways and buses.Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

May 29, 2020

Nassau Coliseum Drive-In Program Sells Out For 1st Weekend

Sign up for WCBS 880's daily newsletter for the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.UNIONDALE, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — Those lucky enough to get tickets will experience a return to the drive-in this weekend at the Nassau Coliseum.Parking lots at the Nassau County venue wll turn into drive-in theaters and guests are permitted to bring their own snacks. There will also be food trucks, sanitizing stations and portable restrooms, according to County Executive Laura Curran. The audio will air on the Hofstra radio station WRHU. The first screening will be 2016's "Trolls" this weekend.But, Curran says this weekend shows are sold out.There was a set limit of just 200 vehicles.JUST ANNOUNCED: Join us this weekend for the screening of Trolls during our first ever drive-in movie weekend!Tickets are on sale now ----Go to https://t.co/pznbdBIzzS for tickets and more information. pic.twitter.com/scLDtXwgUg— NYCB LIVE (@NYCBLive) May 26, 2020 “We encourage all guests to take proper social distancing measures,” Nick Vaerewyck, senior vice president of programming and business operations at NYCB LIVE, said in a statement to Newsday. “All drivers must be wearing a face covering, and anyone who exits their vehicle must comply with wearing a face covering and abiding by social distancing of six feet from anyone outside of members from your car.”Tickets for future events are $30 per car in advance or $35 at the gate via credit or debit card only. CLICK HERE for tickets.Events are rain or shine.Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

May 29, 2020

Cuomo: NYC On Track To Reopen June 8; Five Upstate Regions Entering Phase 2

Sign up for WCBS 880's daily newsletter for the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday that New York City is on track to enter Phase 1 of reopening the week of June 8 and that five Upstate regions are now clear to enter Phase 2."We are on track to open June 8," Cuomo said of the five boroughs.Cuomo said New York City is on pace to meet all its goals for reopening next week, including hospital capacity, a PPE stockpile and a testing/tracing program. He said the MTA is also finishing its final preparations for reopening.“We think all of this can be done next week and we would be on track to open the week afterwards,” Cuomo said.The city and state will focus on coronavirus hotspots by ZIP code, including a number of lower income neighborhoods hit especially hard by COVID-19 cases and deaths.Holding a briefing with updates on #Coronavirus. Watch Live: https://t.co/PiYC7ThKy3— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) May 29, 2020 Cuomo said Phase 1 should bring about 400,000 employees back to work in New York City.“Remember that reopening does not mean we’re going back to the way things were,” Cuomo said. “It’s going to be different. It is reopening to a new normal. It’s a safer normal. People will be wearing masks. People will be socially distances. It doesn’t mean they don’t like you. It’s not a personal reflection. It’s just a new way of interacting, which we have to do.”Mayor Bill de Blasio—who has clashed repeatedly with Cuomo, including most recently over reopening the city's schools—joined Cuomo by video, saying the city and state were "on the same page" and communicating every step of the way.“The mayor is looking fit and healthy and rested. I don’t know why, but he’s looking extraordinarily good,” Cuomo said as he introduced him. “And it’s good to be with him in this new way of—everyone is virtual, everyone is Zoom. But it’s not the virtual mayor. It is the real mayor of the city of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio.”“Governor, I’m worried that the coronavirus is affecting your eyesight,” de Blasio laughed. “Because I think the last 90 days for all of us—a lot of long days. I know you and your team worked extraordinarily hard, and I think we all look a little less than ideal.”De Blasio said New York City continues to see declines in the three key indicators it's tracking: the percentage of people tested who were positive for COVID-19, the number of people admitted to city hospitals with suspected COVID-19 and the number of people at public ICUs with suspected COVID-19.“We are excited to get to the point of a restart for New York City,” de Blasio said. “When I talked to the people of this city this morning, I told them the indicators were moving absolutely in the right direction but that the key to getting to a point, a definition for that Phase 1, came from the collaboration between you and me, the state and the city, to all get on the same page and make sure we were confident that it was the right time to do it.”NYC is on track to begin reopening the week of June 8th.We will stay on track by focusing on the hotspots.We know down to the zip code where the infection rate is higher than average.We will meet the need where it is greatest.— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) May 29, 2020 Cuomo also announced that five regions Upstate can begin Phase 2.“I feel confident that we can rely on this data and the five regions that have been in Phase 1 can now move to Phase 2,” Cuomo said. “Their data has been reviewed and the experts say to us it’s safe to move forward.”The regions include the Finger Lakes, Central New York, the Southern Tier, the Mohawk Valley and the North Country.Five regions will now enter Phase 2 of reopening: North Country, Finger Lakes, Central NY, Mohawk Valley and Southern Tier.The data in these regions has been reviewed by county, regional & state officials as well as global experts in virology.— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) May 29, 2020 Phase 2 includes office-based jobs, real estate services and in-store retail with restrictions. It also includes barbershops and hair salons with restrictions. Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Office Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Office Phase 1 includes manufacturing, construction and in-store and curbside pickup at retail locations.Find out more about the different phases and what's reopening here at the New York state site.Cuomo said Friday that the number of daily deaths from coronavirus in New York state hit its lowest level since the outbreak began.The governor said there were 67 deaths since Thursday, a drop from 74 daily deaths reported on both Wednesday and Thursday.“The number of new deaths, thank the good Lord, continues to decline,” Cuomo said. “It’s at its lowest level ever of 67 deaths.”The governor said hospitalizations and intubations continued to decline as well and that new cases were down to 152. New cases were well over 3,000 per day at the peak of the outbreak in late March.Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

May 29, 2020

NYC Giving Millions Of Face Coverings To Businesses As City Anticipates June Reopening

Sign up for WCBS 880's daily newsletter for the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday that the city will provide millions of free face coverings to workers and businesses as the city begins its planned reopening in the coming weeks.De Blasio said the city will initially coordinate the pickup and delivery of two million face coverings for businesses, workers and customers, with more deliveries to come.“You need them, we’ll come to you. We’ll deliver them. We’ll make sure you have them,” de Blasio said.The Department of Consumer Protection, the Department of Small Business Services and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services will help get the masks to businesses.The mayor said the city will also provide resources to keep workers and customers safe, including online training for workers, FAQs and signage. He said a worker protection hotline is launching next week.De Blasio said he wanted businesses, especially small businesses, to know that the city will help them as they begin reopening."We will be there for you. You are not alone," the mayor said. "We need all our businesses to come back safely, to come back strong.""We're going to help you to succeed, and you're going to help New York City to come back through the great work that you do," he said.There were 198,255 cases of coronavirus reported in the city as of Friday, with 51,449 people hospitalized over the course of the outbreak. There have been 16,673 confirmed deaths and 4,742 “probable” deaths for a combined death toll of 21,415. When it comes to three indicators monitoring the spread of the coronavirus, de Blasio said all three indicators were heading in the right direction, with two of them below the thresholds set by the city as it aims to reopen in the next few weeks.De Blasio said there were 61 patients admitted to hospitals for suspected COVID-19, well under the threshold of 200 patients set by the city.The mayor said there were 391 patients in public ICUs, nearing the threshold of 375 patients set by the city.“This today is really good news,” de Blasio said. “We are on the gateway to getting below that threshold and staying there.”De Blasio said that 5 percent of people tested citywide were positive for COVID-19, well below the 15 percent threshold set by the city.“This is the best of all,” de Blasio said of the third indicator. “Every day we’ve seen progress in recent weeks. Today, the lowest we’ve ever seen, 5 percent testing positive.”“This is putting us well on the way to our goal of opening in the first half of June,” de Blasio said. “Well done, New York City.”The mayor said the city is in regular coordination with the state about reopening and that officials will give the signal to New Yorkers when the requirements to enter Phase 1 have been met."We are confident that we will be able to go to Phase 1 in the first two weeks of June," de Blasio said. "This is going to be based of course on the tangible indicators and thresholds from the state and city."Asked by a reporter what would happen if the city lost ground in its fight against the virus, de Blasio said the city may have to move back to a preceding phase.“From the city’s perspective, we stay below those thresholds we keep going. If we start inching up towards those thresholds, we’re going to talk about it. We’re going to tell people about it. We’re going to warn people. We’re going to take actions in the immediate term to ensure that we can help contain the situation,” the mayor said.When it comes to New Yorkers feeling safe about returning to the subway and buses, de Blasio said, "I really want to push back on the notion that we can solve everything all the time."He said the city will "look at any and all solutions that we can reach" but that "New Yorkers are very resourceful" and "people are going to have to improvise, and I think they will.""We right now, want to make sure that the subways and buses are as safe as possible," de Blasio said. "We have got to figure out how to make the subways and buses not only as clean as possible, which I think the MTA has done a great job on, but we’ve got to make sure there’s maximum service levels, we’ve got to make sure there’s social distancing and limits on how many people can be on each subway car and in each bus."De Blasio said the city does have an "obligation to provide people with something they can believe in and start to feel more and more comfortable with. And that's what we're working on literally as we speak."The mayor said he's meeting with MTA head Pat Foye Friday to talk about the future of the subway and buses.Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot said New Yorkers should try to find alternative ways of getting around, like walking, biking and catching a ride, which will help keep ridership lower on mass transit."I think that there are ways in this early period, when we are looking towards starting to lift little by little restrictions on social distancing, ways in which we can minimize the risk of exposure to New Yorkers," Barbot said. "I think we just need to remember that this is in the context of continuing to encourage working from home for those people who can work from home. And reminding New Yorkers about alternative ways of getting around. If people can walk to work, then that would be the best way. If people can ride to work, then that would be a more desirable alternative." "And as the mayor says, there are ways in which we are working together to ensure that those individuals who do rely on public transportation can do so safely," Barbot said. "We're still going to have people wearing face coverings. There are ways in which we can increase ventilation in buses, for example. So I don't think that we are in a situation where it's going to be the new norm to have everybody drive into work. I just don't see that. I think there alternative ways of getting around—walking, biking, etc.—that can have reduced risk and can actually have other benefits to public health." Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

May 29, 2020

New Jersey Restaurants Call On Murphy To Set Dates For Indoor, Outdoor Dining

Sign up for WCBS 880's daily newsletter for the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.SEA BRIGHT, N.J. (WCBS 880) — Restaurants are predicting a gloomy recover period, and in New Jersey, owners are hoping to catch the ear of Gov. Phil Murphy.The New Jersey Restaurant Association is using a united voice to plead with the governor to allow outdoor dining beginning June 5 and indoor service at 50% capacity by June 15. Chris Wood, owners of Woody’s Grill in Sea Bright, says they will have the proper measures in place to ensure social distancing and health codes.He notes that restaurants need to get back to work now if they hope to survive in the future. “We just don't see a reason why residents of New Jersey in Trenton, for example, should go to New Hope, Pennsylvania to eat outside. Why should people, who were previously going to go to Atlantic City or Wildwood, now go out to go down to the Delaware or the Maryland beaches to enjoy the beaches and eat outside?” Wood asks. “Let's keep that revenue in the state. Let's keep the jobs in the state and let's keep the business operating in the state.”New Jersey's Restaurant Association estimates 20% of restaurants in the state won't survive the pandemic shut down. At least 85% of restaurant employees are still out of work in New Jersey.Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

May 29, 2020

NJ Sets Reopening Dates For Child Care Centers, Youth Day Camps And More

TRENTON, N.J. (WCBS 880) — Child care centers, non-contact organized sports, youth day camps and horse racing will be able to reopen and resume over the next few weeks if they take safety precautions, Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday.Child care centers will be allowed to reopen on June 15, while youth day camps — including municipal summer recreation programs — will be able to open on July 6, Murphy said during his daily briefing on Friday. BREAKING: The following can RESUME over the next several weeks if they follow health and safety safeguards:--Child care centers can reopen 6/15⚾Non-contact organized sports activities can restart 6/22☀️Youth day camps, including municipal summer rec programs, can begin 7/6 pic.twitter.com/Xi9zOnWQ7v— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) May 29, 2020 Non-contact organized sports practices will be able to resume on June 22, the governor said. Horse racing, meanwhile, will be able to resume “as early as next weekend."NEW: Horse racing will RESUME – with the first competitive races as early as next weekend.At this time, we will not be able to allow fans back into our racetrack grandstands. Online gaming remains OPEN and capable of taking your wagers. pic.twitter.com/ogYc8XjyBd— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) May 29, 2020 “Especially for the countless kids who have been looking forward to playing baseball or softball or soccer or other sports, we are proud to take this step,” Murphy said. “We want you to have an active summer with your friends, playing the sport you love, but at the same time while protecting your health.” The governor said he also expects to raise the limit on indoor gatherings “in a way that will allow for greater indoor religious services for the weekend of June 12th," adding that the state would "continue working with our faith institutions to ensure our houses of worship are strong and safe."The state was able to set Friday's reopening dates “because the data we are receiving every day from our hospitals and through testing are allowing us to determine these dates,” Murphy noted.On Friday, he reported 1,117 new COVID-19 cases and 131 new deaths, bringing the total number of cases in the state to 158,844 and the statewide death toll to 11,531. NEW: We’ve received 1,117 new positive #COVID19 test results, bringing our statewide total to 158,844.The spot positivity rate for tests from May 25th was 6%. pic.twitter.com/C5QbCSg7j3— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) May 29, 2020 As of Friday, 2,707 state residents were hospitalized with COVID-19, down by 90 from Thursday. Of the patients hospitalized, 720 were in critical condition, Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said during Murphy's briefing. Seventy-six percent of the patients in critical condition were on ventilators.The state is currently tracking 26 cases of children with MIS-C, or pediatric multisystem inflammatory in children, Persichilli added. None of the children who have contracted MIS-C have died, she noted. Eighteen of the 26 children have tested positive for COVID-19, and six are hospitalized.Murphy on Friday also announced his administration would start applying “at least $100 million” to fund a short-term rental assistance program for low-and moderate-income New Jersey families.

May 29, 2020