Murphy warns COVID variants may cause record high infections in NJ

NEW JERSEY - For nearly a week, New Jersey has led the nation in new COVID infections with more than four thousand new cases a day.

The state has one of the highest infection rates in the country and Governor Phil Murphy said that on the current path, the state could reach a record high in infections.

"Under this scenario, we are in for a long hot summer, so please God this is not what we have to live through," said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.

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Murphy making a critical prediction Wednesday through a model which predicts a worst-case scenario for the Garden State.

According to new numbers from the New Jersey State Health Department, the number of people who test positive for COVID-19 each day is set to peak by mid-May. If residents don't follow public health guidelines and vaccines aren't distributed to enough people as variants spread, the peak could reach its highest number of daily cases ever.

"These are models, they're not certainties," Murphy said. "We can change them with our behavior."

The state predicts that by May 18, there could be over 8,000 cases with more than 3,600 people hospitalized and 415 people on ventilators.

Murphy, however, is still optimistic.

"We have crushed the curves twice. Let's do it a third time and hopefully for a final time," Murphy said.

Helping New Jersey in its fight, the state ranks 3rd in the U.S. in administering vaccines. More than 32 percent of the state's population has at least one dose.

The Garden State will also get more than a hundred thousand Johnson and Johnson doses of the coronavirus next week. The health department also launched a COVID-19 vaccine finder.