With an abnormal Thanksgiving behind us, the focus changed from gatherings at homes to gatherings at stores and malls. On this Black Friday, much like Thanksgiving, there was a lot of uncertainty about what it would look like as cases surge in New Jersey and around the country.

The state reported 4,100 new positive cases for a total of 326,473 cases. Health leaders reported 19 more deaths, for a total of 16,942 confirmed and probable deaths. And as of 10 p.m. Thursday, 2,796 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19-related illnesses.