COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey
The COVID-19 pandemic reached the U.S. state of New Jersey with the first confirmed case occurring in Bergen County on March 2, 2020, and testing positive on March 4. As of January 11, 2022, 1.63 million cases were confirmed in the state, incurring 26,795 deaths.[1]
COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey
On March 9, 2020, Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency. A day later, schools and universities across the state began closing and switching classes to online instruction. Also on March 10, the first person in the state died from the disease.
A statewide curfew began on March 16, and all casinos, gyms, and movie theaters were closed; restaurants and bars were only allowed to remain open for delivery and takeout. On March 21, as the number of COVID-19 cases in the state surpassed 1,000, Governor Murphy announced a statewide stay-at-home order, requiring that all non-essential businesses be closed indefinitely by 9 p.m. that day. In the following months, the stay-at-home order was gradually lifted, however other measures such as social distancing requirements, capacity limits, and requirements that people wear face masks remained in place for some time. Most of these restrictions were lifted by March 2022 when Murphy ended the state's public health emergency due to COVID-19.
As of May 12, 2021, New Jersey has the 9th highest number of confirmed cases in the United States, and the eleventh-highest number of confirmed cases per capita.[2] It has the sixth-highest count of deaths related to the virus and the highest count per capita.[3]
As of January 11, 2022, New Jersey has administered 13,689,830 COVID-19 vaccine doses, and has fully vaccinated 6,482,698 people (equivalent to 72% of the population).[4]