TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - State officials in New Jersey say the death toll associated with the coronavirus pandemic in the state has increased to 9,116 with the addition of another 166 fatalities.
State officials reported more than 1,750 new cases, bringing the total to more than 137,000.
Gov. Phil Murphy said Saturday the trends in the number of cases and in hospitalizations continue to improve, but the state was “seeing the most progress” in the declining rate of tests coming back positive.
“As you can see, the daily positivity rate has been coming down steadily over the past several weeks … We’re making real progress,” he said.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness or death
In other coronavirus-related developments:
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PLASMA COLLECTION SITES
The governor announced that two American Red Cross convalescent plasma collection sites will begin operations in northern New Jersey next week.
Convalescent plasma collection will begin Monday at the American Red Cross blood center in Fairfield and at University Hospital in Newark.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in late March announced a new initiative to collect plasma from those who have recovered from the novel coronavirus in order to treat patients with serious or immediately life-threatening COVID-19 infections.
Officials say the blood plasma from recovered patients contains antibodies that may help critically ill patients fight the virus. Convalescent plasma has historically been used as a potentially life-saving treatment in situations when new diseases or infections develop quickly with no treatments or vaccines yet available, officials said.
Eligible individuals must be fully recovered from COVID-19 and free of symptoms as well as otherwise meeting regular eligibility criteria for blood donation.
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