N.J. reports 32 COVID deaths, 1,211 cases. Nearly 7 million have received at least one dose. – NJ.com

New Jersey on Tuesday reported another 32 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 1,211 cases, as the number of residents with at least one dose of a vaccine against the coronavirus is at nearly 7 million.

The states seven-day average for confirmed positive tests rose slightly to 1,159. But the average is still down 9% from a week ago and 35% from a month ago.

The statewide rate of transmission inched back up to 0.83, from 0.82 on Monday. Even so, the rate of transmission still suggests transmission is slowing. Any transmission rate below 1 indicates that each infected person is passing the virus to less than one other person and the outbreak is no longer expanding.

There were 812 people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases across New Jerseys 71 hospitals as of Monday night, according to state data. Thats six fewer patients than the night before.

There were 44 patients discharged in the 24 hours leading up to Monday night. Of those hospitalized, 212 were in intensive care (19 fewer than the previous night), with 118 of them on ventilators (14 fewer).

The statewide positivity rate for tests conducted Thursday, the most recent day available, was 3.67%.

The delta variant of the virus, which is more contagious than previous variants, now represents 100% of all cases circulating, state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said last week.

New Jerseys numbers are steadily improving, though officials have warned that weather keeps getting colder and the holiday season is approaching, which will force more people to gather indoors and could cause another bump in the numbers.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

More than 6 million people who live, work or study in New Jersey a state of about 9.2 million residents have now been fully vaccinated. Gov. Phil Murphy has said more than 75% of those eligible in the state have been fully vaccinated.

More than 6.9 million people in the state have received at least one dose, and about 430,447 people have received third doses or boosters. That number is likely to go up after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced an expansion in the eligibility for COVID-19 booster shots last week.

Thirteen of New Jerseys 21 counties are listed as having high rates of coronavirus transmission, according to the CDC.

Mercer County was upgraded to high transmission Saturday. Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, and Somerset counties have all been downgraded to substantial transmission, while Essex County has dropped to moderate transmission and Union County to low transmission.

The CDC is recommending that all people in the high and substantial transmission counties wear masks for indoor public settings regardless of vaccination status. In Essex and Union counties, the recommendation is indoor masking for those who are not vaccinated.

Through the first several weeks of the school year, districts in New Jersey have reported at least 126 in-school outbreaks, for a total of 658 cases as of Oct. 19. Thats an increase of 30 outbreaks and 137 total cases from the previous week.

In-school outbreaks are defined as three or more cases that are determined through contact tracing to have been transmitted among staff or students while at school. They do not include total cases among staff and students.

New Jersey, an early epicenter of the pandemic, has now reported 27,896 total COVID-19 deaths in nearly 20 months 25,082 confirmed and 2,814 considered probable, according to the state dashboard. The probable fatalities, which are revised weekly, increased by four deaths on Monday.

The state had the second-most coronavirus deaths per capita in the U.S. as of Tuesday. Mississippi tops the list.

New Jersey has reported 1,036,496 total confirmed cases out of the more than 15.8 million PCR tests conducted since it announced its first case March 4, 2020. The state has also reported 155,416 positive antigen or rapid tests, which are considered probable cases.

At least 8,614 of the states COVID-19 deaths have been among residents and staff members at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to state data. There are active outbreaks at 161 facilities, resulting in 723 current cases among residents and 651 among staffers.

As of Tuesday, there have been more than 244 million positive COVID-19 cases reported across the globe, according to Johns Hopkins University, with more than 4.9 million people having died due to the virus. The U.S. has reported the most cases (more than 45.5 million) and deaths (more than 737,600) of any nation.

There have been more than 6.8 billion vaccine doses administered globally.

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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @johnsb01.

Jackie Roman may be reached at jroman@njadvancemedia.com or on Twitter @JacqueRoman.

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N.J. reports 32 COVID deaths, 1,211 cases. Nearly 7 million have received at least one dose. - NJ.com