NJ COVID updates: Capacity increases to 50% for indoor dining, other businesses; South African variant confirmed in NJ (March 11, 2021)

New Jersey’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic took another step forward on Wednesday, when Governor Phil Murphy announced that restaurants and many other in-house businesses could increase their capacities from 35% to 50% next week.

Bars, casinos, gyms, personal care services and entertainment venues can also be filled in half from 6am on March 19.

The limit for private meetings will also increase to 25 people indoors and 50 outdoors. Religious services or ceremonies, political events, weddings, funerals and memorial services have higher limits.

The capacity for indoor meals was originally reopened by 25% before the Labor Day weekend. Murphy increased that capacity to 35% in early February.

The governor said the limits are being raised due to the sharp drop in hospitalizations last month. The number of coronavirus patients in hospitals has decreased by nearly 1,000 since February 5.

As of 10 pm on Thursday, there were 1,936 patients in 71 state hospitals with coronavirus or a suspected case, compared with 1,961 in the previous 24-hour period. There were 392 people receiving intensive care, with 230 on ventilators. Hospitalizations have decreased by 45% since January 1.

On Wednesday, Murphy revealed a further 3,047 cases of COVID-19 and an additional 56 deaths.

At least 2,711,524 doses of vaccines across the state were administered by 4:30 pm Thursday.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live Map Tracker | Newsletter | Home page

Here is a summary of the latest coronavirus news in New Jersey and elsewhere:

Coronavirus takes the lives of 3 veteran employees of NJ Transit buses: Three employees of the NJ Transit bus, who served for decades, died of complications caused by the coronavirus, officials said.

The announcement came a day after NJ Transit posted a tribute video on social media to employees the agency lost due to COVID-19 and to thank the employees who kept the service running for an entire year from the coronavirus.

COVID closes the Oakland MVC agency, bringing the total of closings across the state to 12: The state’s Motor Vehicle Commission lost another agency on Wednesday that had to close due to a positive employee test for the coronavirus.

But the scales could equalize for drivers on Thursday, when another agency is scheduled to reopen.

The MVC closed the Oakland licensing center on Wednesday afternoon after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. After sanitization, contact tracking and any necessary employee quarantine, it is scheduled to reopen on March 23.

21 school districts brought students back to face-to-face learning this week. See the list: Twenty-one districts brought students back to classrooms part-time this week, while schools continued to change learning formats during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

As of Monday, 543 districts were hybrid, 127 remote and 109 fully in-person. Twenty-one districts switched to hybrid learning this week, while the number of fully face-to-face districts decreased by two. Thirty-three districts have different educational formats for different schools.

Every kid in NJ now has a laptop for online school, Murphy says: Almost a year after ordering all schools to close, Murphy announced on Wednesday that all students in New Jersey should now have a laptop and Internet access for online classes.

The end of the state’s digital exclusion occurs when around 367,000 students remain in fully virtual education. Another 831,000 students attend schools that offer hybrid face-to-face learning, which means that around 1.2 million students (about 89%) currently spend at least part of the school week learning at home.

NJ confirms the first case of the most contagious South African COVID variant. Total cases of variants up to 145: New Jersey health officials announced on Wednesday that the first case of the most contagious coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa has been confirmed in the state.

The Hudson County case brings the total number of variant cases found in New Jersey to 145, said Judy Persichilli, a commissioner with the state Department of Health.

Cases in the USA: At least 529,267 of the approximately 29.1 million tested positive for coronavirus in the United States died by 7 am Thursday, according to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Worldwide cases: As of 7 am on Thursday, the coronavirus had caused at least 2,621,986 million deaths in 192 counties, according to the center. More than 118.1 million have been infected since the outbreak began in December 2019. At least 66.9 million have recovered.

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NJ Advance Media team editors Matt Arco, Adam Clark Nick Devlin, Larry Higgs and Katie Kausch contributed to this report.