New Jersey

New Jersey reported 1,192 new cases of coronavirus Monday, pushing the state’s cumulative total since the start of the pandemic to 221,205 cases.

Another four residents died from COVID-19. There have now been 14,425 lab-confirmed fatalities and another 1,789 probable deaths attributed to the virus.

“While these numbers are a far cry from where we were at our springtime peaks, they are also significantly higher than where we were throughout much of the summer and until just a few weeks ago,” said Gov. Phil Murphy.

New Jersey reported 973 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the state’s cumulative total to 216,994 lab-confirmed cases since the pandemic began.

Another six people died from complications of COVID-19. The state has now reported 14,408 confirmed deaths and another 1,789 probable fatalities resulting from the virus.

The state’s testing positivity rate was 4.35% on October 11.

The statewide rate of transmission was 1.16, which means for every 100 people who caught the virus they spread it to another 116 residents.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced Tuesday that the state was doling out another $100 million in aid to help residents and business owners recover from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“All of this will help us keep our economy moving ahead and our families working even as we continue our work to not only defeat the virus, but to deliver even more critical aid to our families and our small businesses,” Murphy said.

The money will be distributed through several existing programs:

New Jersey switched to a primarily vote-by-mail general election this year because of the coronavirus — which means every registered voter in the state should receive a mail-in ballot without having to ask for one.

Some voters have wondered: What if my mail-in ballot doesn’t arrive on time? What if I prefer to vote in person? Here are your options:

Although it is called a mail-in ballot, there are several ways to submit your vote without sending it through the U.S Postal Service.

A South Jersey Republican representative floated a widely debunked conspiracy theory during the first debate in the 2nd Congressional District Thursday night.

Although public health officials and medical researchers have said the novel coronavirus could not have been manufactured in a lab, U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew said he believed it was.

“We don’t know if it really came from a wet meat market or actually came from a laboratory. I believe it probably came from a laboratory,” he said during the debate on NJTV.

Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and the Republican nominee for this year’s U.S. Senate race in New Jersey are clashing over President Donald Trump’s fundraiser at his golf course in Bedminster last week, turning what was initially a public health matter into a full-blown political spat.

Rik Mehta, a pharmacist and attorney who worked at the Food and Drug Administration, is challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Cory Booker this year. He said Murphy was fear-mongering by raising the alarm about Trump’s fundraiser and urging anyone at the event to self-quarantine.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., is trailing his Democratic challenger, Amy Kennedy, in his first race since leaving the Democratic Party and becoming a Republican, according to a new poll.

A survey by the Monmouth University Polling Institute found that Kennedy had the backing of 49% of registered voters in the South Jersey district while Van Drew was supported by just 44%, with 5% undecided.

Kennedy’s lead held in both high and low voter turnout scenarios and was within the poll’s margin of error.

The announcement came early Friday morning: President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for coronavirus.

“Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19,” the president tweeted. “We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!”

The diagnosis posed new questions about this year’s presidential election.

But it also raised fresh public health concerns in New Jersey, where Trump hosted a fundraiser Thursday night at his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster.

New Jersey reported another 722 cases of coronavirus Wednesday, bringing the state’s total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 205,275.

Another nine residents died from complications of COVID-19, which means there have now been 14,335 lab-confirmed fatalities and another 1,787 probable deaths.

The state’s test positivity rate was 3%, the highest it had been since mid-July.

The rate of transmission was 1.15, which means for every 100 people who caught coronavirus they passed it to another 115 residents.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed a state budget that he and top Democratic lawmakers say will help the state recover from the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for a possible second wave of the virus.

The $32.7 billion, nine-month spending plan also includes Murphy’s long-sought tax hike on millionaires, which he said will allow the state to help low-income and middle-class families.

New Jersey reported another 612 cases of coronavirus on Friday, bringing the state’s cumulative total since the start of the pandemic to 202,100 infections.

Another seven people died of complications from COVID-19, which means there have now been 14,306 confirmed deaths and 1,791 probable deaths from the pandemic in New Jersey.

Gov. Phil Murphy also renewed the state’s public health emergency, which expires unless it is re-upped every 30 days.

Cases rise in a handful of counties

More than 300 pharmacies across the Garden State will give out free doses of naloxone to anyone who asks for it starting Thursday and running through Saturday until they run out.

The program is the latest push by Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration to combat the opioid epidemic, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact public health and the economy.

Human Services Commissioner Carole Johnson said the state wants to make it as easy as possible for residents to access the drug, commonly known by its brand name Narcan.

A budget for the remaining nine months of New Jersey’s fiscal year will include a tax hike on millionaires but scrap other proposals by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, including his “baby bonds” initiative.

The budget agreed to by Murphy and top lawmakers in the Democrat-controlled Legislature became public Tuesday, the same day budget committees in both houses voted on the $32.7 billion plan.

New Jersey millionaires are in for a tax hike.

Gov. Phil Murphy and top lawmakers in the Democrat-controlled state legislature on Thursday announced a deal to raise the income tax rate on people making more than $1 million and give $500 rebates to middle-class families.

New Jersey reported another 518 cases of coronavirus Friday, bringing the cumulative total over the last six months of the pandemic to 195,888 positive cases.

The state also reported another nine deaths related to the virus. That means there have been 14,234 confirmed fatalities and another 1,789 probable deaths from COVID-19.

The state’s rate of transmission was 1.08, meaning for every 100 people testing positive, the virus spreads to 108 more people.

Young people driving new cases

The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office has issued about 100 violations to realtors and landlords who tried to block potential tenants because they were going to pay rent using government assistance.

It is illegal to discriminate against a potential renter based on the source of their income, but investigators found “many” online ads warning that Section 8, the State Rental Assistance Program, and other government assistance programs would be denied.

New Jersey reported another 284 cases of coronavirus Tuesday, bringing the state’s cumulative total since the start of the pandemic to 194,667 cases.

The state also reported another 5 confirmed deaths, which occurred more than two months ago. New Jersey has now seen 14,213 confirmed fatalities and 1,783 probable deaths from COVID-19.

The rate of transmission is at 1.1, meaning for every 10 positive cases, the virus spreads to 11 people.

Limited ‘knucklehead behavior’ as indoor dining returns

New Jersey reported another 478 cases of coronavirus Friday, bringing the state’s cumulative total to 193,422 cases over the last six months.

Another 7 residents died from COVID-19, which means there have now been 14,195 lab-confirmed deaths and 1,783 probable deaths attributed to the outbreak.

The state’s rate of transmission was 1.03, which means everyone who tests positive for the disease was spreading it to at least one other person, and the spot positivity rate for coronavirus tests was 1.81.