The statewide COVID-19 count stands at 279,274 cases and 14,765 fatalities (and 1,801 probable fatalities) as of Sunday; the viral transmission rate is 1.38.

It’s an increase of over 10,000 new cases in just the past few days, and 4,540 new cases reported since Saturday.  Governor Murphy tweeted ‘these numbers are ALARMING and continue to rise’.

The last record day was April 17th, which saw 4,391 cases reported, according to NJ.com, which notes that ‘it is difficult to directly compare cases from April to now because there were far fewer tests being done in the spring when supplies and testing sites were more limited. It is likely the virus was more rampant in April.’