New Jersey is “in the thick of the COVID second wave,” according to Gov. Phil Murphy.

The governor and state health officials on Tuesday announced 4,383 new positive cases of the virus, along with 48 additional deaths. The rate of transmission has ticked down slightly to 1.27.

But health officials say that hospitalizations are up for the 25th day in a row. There are 2,785 COVID-19 patients in the hospital – an increase of 100 from Monday. There are more than 500 people in the ICU, with 265 on ventilators.

Middlesex County had the most of the new cases on Tuesday, with 463.

The governor once again urged New Jerseyans to keep their Thanksgiving celebrations small and to refrain from traveling this holiday to help slow the spread.

Meanwhile, a new study by the American Institute of Physics found that if 70% of people wore face masks in public consistently, COVID-19 would be no more. The study found that all masks can help slow the spread of the virus.