'Second wave is coming now,' says Murphy during COVID briefing

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Speaking during a briefing on the pandemic while he continues to self-isolate, Murphy said cases were rising as are hospitalizations. (Murphy briefing)

NEW JERSEY - Gov. Phil Murphy had a dire warning for New Jerseyans Thursday: the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic is coming in now.

Speaking during a briefing on the pandemic while he continues to self-isolate, Murphy said cases were rising as are hospitalizations.

"It is coming and it is coming now," said Murphy. "We have seen new cases grow exponentially across the past several weeks. And, along with that, the number of patients being treated at our hospitals has similarly been on the rise. We are now urging you to double down on the practices that helped us flatten the curve last spring and throughout the summer."

Among the practices to prevent the spread of the virus, keep a social distance of six feet, wash your hands frequently with soap and water, use hand sanitizers, and wear face masks.

"This virus has been waiting for us to get lax in our personal responsibilities so it could come roaring back," said Murphy.

There have been a total of 234,547 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the outbreak in March. 16,332 people have died from the virus. There were 1,477 new cases reported Thursday.

"We have to get back to that level of vigilance that we had six months ago," added Murphy.

The governor updated the public on the personal protective stockpile saying 82 million cases of PPE has been distributed by the state in the past eight months.

About 5.7 million n95 masks are in the stockpile with 1.6 million on order.