Though COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising sharply again, at levels not seen since the early days of the pandemic, Gov. Phil Murphy told NJ Advance Media this week it’s “highly unlikely” New Jersey will install any new restrictions to battle the surge.
Murphy said during an interview he doesn’t expect more statewide lockdowns, mask mandates, or capacity limits. And asked if the state may require vaccine passports, he replied: “I don’t see it.”
Instead, the governor said, the focus will be on increasing vaccine booster shots, helping hospitals with staffing, and expanding testing.
Murphy also stressed one of the “big, central” goals of his second term — which begins Jan. 18 — is to get the Garden State “back to a real semblance of normalcy.”
The latest wave of the pandemic — which has killed more than 29,000 New Jerseyans over the last 22 months — comes as the highly contagious omicron variant spreads wildly across the globe. The state has
routinely posted record-breaking daily caseloads in recent weeks, while statewide coronavirus hospitalizations have surpassed 5,000 patients for the first time since the initial wave of the pandemic started to wane in spring 2020. The state has also reported more than 240 deaths in recent days.
But in a wide-ranging interview Tuesday at his office in Trenton as he prepares for his next term, Murphy struck an optimistic tone, echoing reports
from other parts of the world that suggest omicron-fueled surges subside quickly.
“We’re gonna get through this,” the governor said. “The omicron variant appears to be something that goes up literally like a straight line and when it breaks, it goes down pretty precipitously. And ultimately, it’s going to get to a place where (the virus is) going to be among us, but we will be able to live what we would all think of as completely normal lives. And I do believe that is within our reach sooner rather than later.”
The outlook marks a shift for Murphy. The Democrat installed some of the nation’s most sweeping statewide restrictions as the pandemic ravaged New Jersey in early 2020. He gradually peeled them back over the next two years as coronavirus numbers dropped, while also implementing vaccine requirements for state workers, health-care employees, and school and daycare staff.
Masks are still required in schools, daycare facilities, health-care settings, state government buildings, and on mass transit in New Jersey.
Murphy — who won re-election in November in
a closer-than-expected race infused with COVID-related anger and fatigue — has said in recent months that all options “remain on the table” to fight rising numbers. But he has so far stopped short of returning to previous restrictions or tightening existing vaccine rules.
That’s even as numerous New Jersey towns and cities have installed
new business and mask mandates in recent weeks.
Murphy did announce Monday he asked the Democratic-controlled state Legislature to approve
a 90-day extension of some of his remaining COVID-19 emergency powers and orders before they expire Jan. 11.
That includes the authority to to implement federal health guidelines. Murphy said Monday that means masks would continue to be
mandated in schools and daycare facilities, aligning with guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Under the powers, the governor could also expand statewide restrictions beyond the CDC’s recommendations if there is a significant uptick in coronavirus numbers.
The Legislature has so far signaled it supports
extending only the powers that help hospitals more easily care for patients, and for only 45 days. They do not back the majority of what Murphy is seeking, including allowing the school mask mandate to continue and keeping the governor’s authority over other vaccinations and testing.
Outgoing state Senate President
Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester — who will leave office Jan. 11, having lost re-election — said Monday that while legislative leaders are “looking” at Murphy’s request, some officials have been telling him “we’re gonna have to learn how to live” with the pandemic “because it’s another year.”
If lawmakers don’t sign off, Murphy could technically declare another public-health emergency and renew the powers himself.
THE LATEST: N.J. lawmakers push back on Murphy request to extend school mask mandate and other COVID powers
Still, Murphy insisted during Tuesday’s interview he doesn’t anticipate broader mask rules or another lockdown. He also said there’s no plan for New Jersey to join other places — such as New York and Philadelphia — in requiring people to show proof of vaccination, known as “vaccine passports,” to eat in restaurants or see a concert. And he said he doesn’t expect the state to follow other places in requiring all government workers to be vaccinated. (New Jersey workers can choose regular testing instead.)
While Murphy said last month
his “fear” was New Jersey would return to capacity limits on businesses and venues “at some point,” he said that’s not likely, either.
“I met a small-businessman at the Giants-Cowboys game and he went down my throat because he thought I was saying that’s what we were gonna do,” the governor said. “I said it was an example of a long list of things that you have to leave on the table. But no, I don’t see it.”
On masks, Murphy noted many residents still wear them voluntarily. Plus, he said, he’s reluctant to impose another mandate “you don’t have a high confidence you can enforce.”
“You’re gonna have a minority of people no matter what you do who are not gonna be with you,” Murphy said.
“If you’re double-vaxxed and boosted and you’re already being a good citizen on mask wearing, to put a further burden on you for doing the right thing, to me, is just not fair,” he added.
Sources in Murphy’s administration also note that places with tougher vaccine rules are also seeing large number spikes, and thus it wouldn’t be justified to impose mandates that could further hurt struggling businesses.
Plus, Murphy has said New Jersey officials will do “everything we can” to keep schools open for in-person learning for the pandemic. The state has left it up to individual school districts to decide whether to switch to remote classes amid outbreaks.
Murphy said the state has new goals, including
increasing vaccine booster shots. Though about three-quarters of the state’s eligible population is fully vaccinated, only 46% of those eligible have gotten boosters.
He said other focuses include increasing manpower at hospitals with staff shortages and setting up
test-to-stay programs in schools to help prevent classes from switching to remote.
In addition, Murphy said the state desperately needs more testing capacity. Demand has outweighed supply during the new surge, with people often
waiting on long lines to get tested. Murphy said officials are pressing the federal government to build another bit testing site like the one
that recently opened in East Orange.
Ultimately, the governor said, he doesn’t believe COVID-19 numbers will ever drop to zero.
“But I think the fever breaks and it gets down to something like a bad flu season, where people still get sick and sadly some die,” Murphy said.
He also suggested booster shots will become a regular defense.
“And because of that, we’re able to live with it in a complete way, not just a partial way — we’re not wearing masks when we have this interview a year from now. We’re not doing that in schools,” Murphy said. “We’ve got to break the fever, get through this, and get normal.”
