Coronavirus could continue into the summer, New Jersey governor says

close

Video

US surgeon general on slowing the spread of coronavirus

Dr. Jerome Adams, U.S. surgeon general, joins Steve Hilton on 'The Next Revolution.'

Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.

Gov. Phil Murphy, the New Jersey Democrat, said in an interview Sunday that the coronavirus outbreak could continue “meaningfully into the summer.”

“We’re going to have not just a tough week ahead but a tough several weeks ahead,” Murphy told  CNN. “Whether it’s ventilators, personal protective equipment, beds, health care workers, those will all be constraints.”

CLICK HERE FOR LATEST ON CORONAVIRUS

Video

NJ.com reported that New Jersey suffered 917 coronavirus deaths and over 37,000 cases. The paper reported that there were additional 3,482 cases in the last 24 hours. Murphy pointed out that the state lost more residents to the coronavirus than it did in the 9/11 attacks.

GOOGLE SEARCH EFFECTIVE WAY TO TRACK DISEASE?

"Just as we have committed to never forgetting those we lost on 9/11, we will commit to never forget those we lost to this pandemic,” he said.

The number of people infected in the U.S. has exceeded 300,000, with the death toll climbing past 9,000. Nearly 4,200 of those deaths are in the state of New York.

Murphy’s warning came hours before U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams told Fox News that he believes the country may see its peak this week. He said that despite the grim prediction, there have been glimmers of hope.  States like New York and California have seen death drop recently.

“I know it’s going to be a bad week, a bad seven to 10 days, but I’m optimistic that if we keep doing what we’re supposed to do, we can reopen parts of this country sooner than June 1 or the end of May,” he said.

GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the toll in the coming week is "going to be shocking to some, but that's what is going to happen before it turns around, so just buckle down."

The Associated Press contributed to this report