In an update he called “sobering,” Gov. Phil Murphy announced Friday morning that the state has 2,080 new COVID-19 cases.
It is the first time since May 6 — when the state had 2,494 cases — that New Jersey has broken the 2,000 mark.
“We are still in the fight, let there be no doubt about it,” Murphy said.
With the new total, the state has 236,523 cumulative positives since the pandemic reached New Jersey in March.
Murphy said the state also recorded seven additional fatalities — all of which occurred in the past 15 days — bringing that total to 14,546.
Murphy, in a tweet, said: “The virus has been waiting for us to get lax. Stay safe vigilant, and smart.”
Other news Friday:
Voting totals
As of Friday morning, 3,166,242 ballots have been cast in the state.
With four days to go until next Tuesday’s general election, New Jersey has reached 80% of its total votes from 2016.
Final word
Murphy, on Yahoo Finance, on the possibility of a state lockdown:
“We’re not there yet, but all options are on the table … if we have to shut the whole place down, we will — we were one of the first states to do that in March — I just hope we can avoid it again this time.”
