A 4-year-old with an underlying medical condition is the first child in New Jersey to die from complications related to the coronavirus, state officials announced Friday.
Gov. Phil Murphy said during his daily press briefing in Trenton the death is the state’s first COVID-19 fatality of someone under the age of 18.
“We’ve lost another blessed life,” Murphy said. “In this case, it’s unfathomable it’s a 4-year-old.”
State officials declined to reveal further information about the victim, including sex and residence. They also would not reveal which underlying medical condition the child had.
“In order to protect privacy of the child, will not release further details,” state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said.
The child was one of 162 new coronavirus-related deaths New Jersey officials announced Friday, bringing the statewide total to at 8,952 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the nine weeks since the outbreak began.
The news comes days after 15 New York City children were reported to have contracted Kawasaki disease, an inflammatory illness possibly associated to COVID-19. Health officials said Thursday that at least 12 New Jersey hospitals have treated children with the rare disease.
It is unknown whether the victim announced Friday had the disease.
“I think we’ve said all we’re gonna say about the blessed 4-year-old we’ve lost,” Murphy said when asked.
Children contracting the coronavirus at all is rare. Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data suggested last month that children represent only 2% of all U.S. and their symptoms tend to be milder than those found in adults. COVID-19 cases and as of its April 10 Morbidity and Mortality report — the CDC’s most recent discussion on the topic — it noted only three people under the age of 18 had died from complications from the virus in the U.S.
Prior to the child’s death, the age breakdown for New Jersey’s fatal coronavirus cases has been:
- 29 victims ages 18 to 29
- 330 victims ages 30 to 49
- 1,155 victims ages 50 to 64
- 2,369 victims ages 65 to 79
- 3,340 victims ages 80 and older
More than half of the victims with a known medical history have had an underlying condition, including at 58% with cardiovascular disease, according to the state’s COVID-19 tracking website.
New Jersey, a densely populated state of 9 million residents, has reported at least 135,454 total coronavirus since the outbreak began March 4. That includes another 1,985 positive tests that state officials announced Friday. Only New York has more total deaths and cases among American states.
Meanwhile, coronavirus-related hospitalizations in the Garden State continue to decrease from a peak in mid-April, from more than 8,000 to 4,764 as of 10 p.m. Thursday.
“The data from our hospitals continue to move in the right direction — down,” Murphy said during Friday’s briefing. “But we also cannot overstate enough that even while we are pleased with this progress, our hospital systems are dealing with far more patients than they would be otherwise in any other year, and the stress on our health care system, while certainly lessening, is still there. Only we have the power to push these numbers down further.”
The Garden State’s economy has also suffered during the outbreak, with more than 1 million residents having filed for unemployment since social distancing and business closings began in late March. Meanwhile, businesses has suffered untold revenue losses.
Despite pressure from some lawmakers, businesses, and residents, Murphy has said the state can’t rush reopening because that would risk cases, deaths, and hospitalizations rising again.
The governor has formed a commission to plot a strategy but has not given a definitive timeline. He has said the state must meet conditions for a broader reopening — including cases and hospitalizations dropping for 14 straight days, as well as officials expanding testing and installing contact tracing and isolations programs.
But Murphy has allowed parks and golf courses to reopen in New Jersey, with social-distancing restrictions. And with Memorial Day less than three weeks away, he said he may soon allow beaches to reopen, with similar guidelines.
Murphy also said he may allow nonessential construction and elective surgeries to resume, while also allowing some nonessential businesses to offer curbside service.
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com.
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