Pa. and N.J. averaging lowest new case numbers since November

The spread of the coronavirus across the region showed more signs of slowing Wednesday, while data indicated more than 1.2 million people had been fully vaccinated in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with even more having received one shot and in line for the second.

The national demand for the shots still far outstrips the supply, but the amount flowing to the states weekly keeps ticking up. And Wednesday’s news that the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be approved within days is “a potential game changer,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said.

“We are making tremendous strides every day,” Murphy said. “We know it’s not a straight line. And we know there’s still folks out there who are anxious and frustrated. We get that. But with each and every day we continue to plow through this.”

More than 677,000 Pennsylvanians and 566,000 New Jerseyans have already received the two-shot doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. As of Wednesday, the two states also both had their lowest average rate of new infections since early November. Pennsylvania was averaging 2,569 new coronavirus cases a day over the past week and New Jersey 3,029.

That type of decline is occurring across the region, state, and country. The two-week positive-test rate in Montgomery County, for instance, as of Friday had dropped to just over 6%, compared with nearly 11% in mid-January.

“I’m cautiously optimistic. It’s been great to see such a decline in numbers,” said Val Arkoosh, chair of the county commissioners. But, she cautioned, “we have a long way to go.”

As state and local officials reckon with the vaccine rollout, Montgomery County leaders announced the creation of a phone hotline for residents to preregister for the vaccine, expanding the county’s sign-up system beyond the internet. The hotline, at (833) 875-3967, will work the same way as the county’s preregistration website: As vaccine doses become available, people who signed up will be notified when they can make an appointment.

More than 172,000 county residents have already signed up online, with 30,000 registering in one day at the peak of a postholiday case spike. It might take up to 12 weeks to hear back after preregistering, Arkoosh said.

Towns across the state also could soon be on the receiving end of billions in relief dollars, with hundreds of millions going to Philadelphia, if President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill passes through Congress in its current form, according to Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Pa.).

The House is expected to vote on the bill this week and the Senate to take it up by mid-March, Boyle said. It contains $1,400 stimulus checks for most Americans, $400 weekly enhanced unemployment benefits, and expanded tax credits for children.

It would also give Philadelphia money to offset pandemic-related budget deficits, fund transit and airports, and send money for education and child-care funding statewide. Pennsylvania would get $13 billion for state and local governments.

Thanks to the improving trends, Murphy said he may soon allow New Jersey restaurants to operate at 50% of seating capacity instead of the current 35%. He said the state was being cautious due to the variant strains of COVID-19, which health officials are monitoring.

Still, the governor urged hope: “It feels like the ground is beginning to shift into a better place.”

Staff writer Anthony R. Wood contributed to this article.