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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - NOVEMBER 30: A COVID-19 testing facility is advertised at Newark Liberty International Airport on November 30, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. The United States, and a growing list of other countries, has restricted flights from southern African countries due to the detection of the COVID-19 Omicron variant last week in South Africa. Stocks in the travel and airline industry have fallen in recent days as fears grow over the spread and severity of the variant.
New Jersey has seen a decrease in COVID-19 cases, but the daily and weekly reported figures are still alarming for most residents.
According to reports, 8,816 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Sunday, which is down 51 percent compared to last week's almost 10,000 reported cases.
Prior to last month, New Jersey never reported cases over 7,000 daily, and the highest single-day for positive tests was 33,459 on Jan. 7.
The number of deaths is also relatively lower compared to the previous weeks, with just 13 people. During the first 23 days of the month, there were 19 recorded COVID-19 deaths in the state.
New Jersey vaccination status, hospitalization rates kept private
According to NJ.com, New Jersey doesn't usually disclose the number of daily vaccines administered and those hospitalized. But for the first time in two years, they provided this information.
The 3.86 million residents of New Jersey have only received an initial vaccine course which is either one dose of Johnson & Johnson or two doses of Pfizer or Moderna.
New Jersey study shows effectiveness of vaccines, boosters
Last week, New Jersey data revealed that individuals who got COVID-19 boosters are less likely to get breakthrough infections.
Of the roughly 2.3 million residents who have received a booster dose, 19,360 reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 between Dec. 6 to Jan. 2. These figures were compared to 113,775 breakthrough cases among the nearly 3.9 million people who received only their first dose.
"The rates of infection and hospitalization for those with boosters is more than three times lower than for those who have only a primary vaccination," Gov. Phil Murphy said via Philly Voice.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said that breakthrough infections are expected since vaccines cannot provide 100 percent protection.
But vaccinated individuals are less likely to experience adverse effects. And those who already received their booster are less likely to develop severe illness compared to those who only received their first dose.
School mask mandates may be removed by June
New Jersey still has a mask mandate in school as of press writing. But Gov. Murphy said they could drop the mask mandate this year if the number of Omicron cases continues to decline.
Murphy said that the school year typically ends in June, so there's a huge possibility for mask mandates to be lifted by then. The governor added that it seems like they're in the early days of turning the corner, but it looks like there's a real shot at removing the mandate, according to ABC 7 NY.
Murphy also responded to questions about why he required all healthcare workers to get vaccinated and boosted, dropping the testing options available for others.
HPAE President Debbie White said she doesn't understand why there's a need to test less when it should be more critical for others to have more testing grounds in New Jersey.
Last week, the University Hospital in Newark also rolled out a welcome mat for 23 Army medics so that the frontline nurses and staff could get some rest.
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