Today, an additional 1,577 positive COVID-19 cases were announced, increasing the statewide total to 1,024,061. An additional 19 deaths were announced, increasing the statewide total to 24,889. The rate of transmission is 0.94. There have been 12,479,171 doses of vaccinations administered in NJ, with 5,961,522 individuals who live, work, or study in NJ fully vaccinated.
On Wednesday, Governor Murphy provided an update on COVID-19 “breakthrough” cases from September 20th through September 26th. There were 3,000 positive COVID-19 cases, with a statewide total of 13,507 breakthrough cases. There were 39 COVID-related hospitalizations, with a statewide total of 883 hospitalized breakthrough cases. There were zero breakthrough deaths, with a statewide total of 137.
The Governor also provided an update on in-school transmission since the start of the 2021-2022 school year. There have been 84 total districts reporting cases since the start of the school year. The following update is for cases between October 5th and October 11th. There were 27 new outbreaks, with a statewide total of 96. There were 125 new student cases reported, with a statewide total of 444. There were 17 new staff cases, with a statewide total of 77.
Acting Commissioner of the Department of Human Services (DHS), Sarah Adelman, joined the briefing on Wednesday to discuss the latest investment into making NJ child care more accessible and affordable for working families in New Jersey. The Acting Commissioner acknowledged that access to child care is critical to the pandemic recovery and announced that DHS plans to invest $700 million in the child care sector. The DHS has been focused on increasing access for NJ working parents and increasing support for child care providers and employees. Prior to the pandemic, the DHS invested an additional $100 million in child care accessibility. During the pandemic, the DHS invested $400 million in coronavirus relief funding. The latest $700 million initiative relies on direct funding through the American Rescue Plan focuses on three specific areas. The first area is reducing the cost of care and putting that money back in the pockets of NJ families. The second area is supporting child care workers by increasing wages and training. The third area of focus is supporting child care providers with grants for ongoing operations and incentives to invest in quality and expand after hours care.
