NJ Coronavirus Hospitalizations Are Highest Since May But Hospitals Say They're Not Near Capacity

COVID-19 hospitalizations in New Jersey have doubled since early November, but hospitals are hopeful they won't be overrun with coronavirus patients like they were last spring.

The state's 71 hospitals are treating 3,600 people with confirmed or suspected cases of the coronavirus—numbers not seen since mid-May. But this time, they're also treating patients seeking routine medical care.

Kerry McKean Kelly, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Hospital Association, says hospitals are currently operating at about 70 percent capacity out of 21,000 total beds.

"We also have the ability to surge up with added beds very quickly and that's one of the lessons learned from the spring as well," she said. 

Kelly says patients are spending much less time in the hospital and health care workers know a lot more about treating the virus this time around.