On Sunday afternoon, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced that are 31 new cases of coronavirus in the state, bringing the statewide total to 98. The cases are spread across 13 counties, with 2 confirmed cases in Ocean County, but none in Lakewood. Two coronavirus patients in New Jersey have sadly died from the illness.
Murphy said that social distancing – the practice of staying physically away from people to stop the spread of the virus – is not being practiced enough and urged state residents to take the recommendation made by health experts more seriously. “Not enough is being done, there is too much business as usual,” Murphy said. “We need not just most of us, but all of us to follow suit. This is something that none of us can be cavalier about.” Murphy said that he was looking at taking some aggressive steps to enforce social distancing, hinting that bars in the state may be ordered to close.
Governor Murphy also said that he would be announcing the closure of all public and private schools in the state on Monday.
The governor said that his administration is working closely with local and county health officials, hospitals, and the public health workforce to monitor the situation in New Jersey so that they can take appropriate actions to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.
Murphy said that he was pleased by the bill passed in the House of Representatives which would help financially support quarantined citizens, and urged the Senate to pass it without delay. President Trump announced his support for the bill on Friday evening.
Governor Murphy asked the federal government to reopen the Affordable Care Act enrollment in New Jersey in response to Covid-19, to give uninsured New Jerseyans a chance to get health insurance before possibly becoming infected.
The governor also said that plans were being put into place to have drive-thru coronavirus testing in New Jersey, taking the burden off of hospitals that are being flooded with concerned patients. An announcement on drive-thru testing is expected within a matter of days. The first site where drive-thru testing will be available is expected to be at Bergen County Community College.
Yesterday, New Jersey received four truckloads of additional personal protective equipment required by medical professionals. The shipment includes 13,000 gloves, 4,500 masks, 2,208 face shields, 1,482 gowns, and 42 overalls.
Governor Murphy also thanked the healthcare workers on the front lines of the response to the pandemic and urged all New Jerseyans to work together to defeat the outbreak. “Grateful to everyone who is working on the front lines of our response – from public health workers, to janitors and custodians, to the people stocking grocery store shelves,” Murphy wrote on Twitter. “It will take our entire New Jersey family pulling together for us to emerge from this emergency stronger than before.”
After meeting with executives from major groceries, President Trump said that it is completely unnecessary for Americans to hoard daily essentials, as supermarkets and groceries across the country still have their supply lines in place and no disruption to those supplies are expected.
Stay with TLS for updates on Covid-19.