On Wednesday the New Jersey General Assembly made the unprecedented leap to protect its 80 members by holding its first-ever electronic voting session amid the prolonged COVID-19 crisis that has gripped the nation and the world.

As of Thursday afternoon, the number of novel coronavirus cases in New Jersey shot  to 6,876, while 81 residents have died from the respiratory disease. The state announced nearly 2,500 new cases on Thursday, by far the highest single day increase since the first case was reported on March 4.