Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey health officials are seeing an uptick of coronavirus cases in some counties.
Murphy at his Friday news conference singled out Ocean County for the most alarming increase, calling it a "hot spot." Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said that more than 400 new cases have been reported in Ocean County since Monday, with Lakewood the center of the new cases.
Young people between 18 to 29 years old are making up a large percentage of the new Ocean County cases.
The Department of Health is getting additional testing to Ocean County and talking to local leaders and religious leaders about continuing to urge people to practice social distancing and other safety measures. They are also emphasizing contact tracing to stop any spread.
Gloucester County along with Bergen, Middlesex and Monmouth counties are also seeing an uptick in cases recently.
On Friday, Murphy announced 612 more people had tested positive for COVID-19 statewide, bringing the case total since the pandemic began to more than 202,000.
The first-term Democrat announced he had extended the public health emergency another 30 days. He reiterated that he must do this to ensure it doesn't expire and that the Department of Health can continue to coordinate efforts to slow the spread of the virus.
Commercial drivers in New Jersey are also getting more time to renew expired or expiring licenses as the state's Motor Vehicle Commission continues to deal with long lines as it struggles to catch up amid coronavirus.
Murphy announced that the MVC extended the deadline for commercial driver's licenses and learner's permits to Dec. 31.
He also announced that senior citizens who must go to an MVC office in person could now do so during dedicated times between 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursday.
Murphy urged drivers to use the MVC's website to perform many tasks and alleviate the need for in-person interactions that continue to cause long lines at MVC offices.
