Today, March 4th, marks the 1-year anniversary since a new virus, Covid-19, was confirmed to have reached New Jersey. The rest is history. 

The first confirmed Covid patient in New Jersey was a 32-year old physician’s assistant from Ft. Lee, who ended up in the hospital for 19 days, but is now fully recovered.

Governor Murphy made note of the anniversary in his Wednesday press conference, saying “none of us could even imagine” just a year ago the toll that this pandemic would ultimately have on people.

“For twelve months, we have had to take extraordinary and painful steps to beat back this virus and save lives. We have asked a lot of you,” Murphy said.

Since the first confirmed case in New Jersey, the state has recorded approximately 800,000 more cases, although the number is likely far higher due to the lack of testing in the early days of the pandemic. New Jersey has also since then recorded 23,000 confirmed or presumed deaths from coronavirus.

“To every New Jerseyan who has joined our fight over the past year: Thank for you showing that when we fight COVID together, we can beat it together,” Murphy said.