Coronavirus New Jersey: State In 'Fight Of Our Lives' As COVID-19 Death Toll Stands At 1,700
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- In New Jersey, coronavirus cases appear to be leveling off. But officials are cautious about that stat as more people have become critically ill from the virus.
On Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy called the crisis "the fight of our lives."
"These aren't numbers, these are people," Murphy said.
The positive COVID-19 case count steamrolled above 50,000 Thursday as the death toll now stands at 1,700. New Jersey is now heading toward the end of an extremely difficult week.
Among those we've lost, Murphy acknowledged Camden County businessman and philanthropist Steve Ravitz, who's best known for operating several ShopRite supermarkets.
"We know that his legacy will be carried on by his family. God bless you, Steve," Murphy said.
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Murphy also gave a shoutout to Rowan University engineering students and staff for making intubation boxes for health care professionals.
Eyewitness News spoke with another one of Murphy's recent #NJThanksYou recipients, the Jones family in Pennsauken, whose business, Tailored Tutoring, is now offering free tutoring to anyone who needs help.
"Honestly, we're all under a lot of stress because of this. So I figure whatever it is that you can do, just do it. Whatever you can do to help, whatever your skill is. I mean we wish we could do so much more. We wish we could help the people on the frontline but this is what we can do and this is what we're good at," Shawn Jones said.
State officials again stressed the importance of everyone battling COVID-19 by social distancing during Holy Week, and now wearing face masks when they leave the house.
Health officials say the state's 4,000 critical care beds now hold more than 1,500 severely sick COVID-19 patients on ventilators. Capacity is at about 39%.
"This is no time to panic but it is equally so not time for business as usual. This is the fight of our lives," Murphy said.
Marriott is offering free rooms at the Marriott Courtyard Newark for nurses and doctors working long hours as part of their nationwide Rooms for Responders initiative.
In an effort to protect New Jerseyans unable to pay their health care premiums during the health crisis, Murphy signed an executive order Thursday extending the grace period for residents who may be unable to pay their premiums.
The executive order requires a minimum 60-day grace period for health and dental insurance policies and a 90-day grace for home and auto insurance, renters insurance, life insurance, insurance premium-financing arrangements and more.
Insurance claims must be paid out to those who are within the grace periods. Insurers are not allowed to ask for repayment of unpaid premiums in a lump sum at the end of the grace period and back payments must be spread out over the remainder of the insurance term.
Murphy took measures to ensure social distancing on Wednesday, closing state parks and implementing new requirements for essential retail stores.
Some grocery stores in South Jersey are already following the new social distancing rules. The rules don't go into effect until Friday, but shoppers have been lined up all morning to get their groceries at the Glassboro ShopRite.
Customers waiting outside to get their groceries are standing six feet apart and once inside, the mandate states occupancy should be 50% of the maximum capacity.
New Jersey's jobless claims jumped 32% last week to 206,000, breaking a record set the week before, the state Labor Department said Thursday. The spike in claims reflects the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the state's economy, according to the Labor Department.
The hardest-hit workers were from the food-service industry, followed by those at doctors' and dentists' offices, the department said. Administrative workers were also hit hard.
"We learned this morning that nearly 214,000 more New Jerseyans filed for unemployment insurance benefits last week," Murphy said. "We're working as hard as possible to make it easier for you to access your benefits. No one will be denied one penny of their unemployment benefits."
Those looking for work during the coronavirus outbreak can visit the state's job portal. There are nearly 50,000 active job listings.
Murphy tweeted a map showing how social distancing is slowing the spread of the virus.
"I know social distancing isn't fun. I know it can be inconvenient. This can't be a time of convenience. This is a fight to protect our families, our friends and our neighbors. It's a fight for the heart and soul and future of our state," Murphy said.
"Every day, we get stronger," Murphy added. "Every day, we are more prepared to see ourselves through this. This is the spirit we all need to muster now and for the weeks ahead. This is New Jersey. We can do anything."
CBS3's Cleve Bryan contributed to this report.
