New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy reimposed a public health emergency Tuesday amid a spike in COVID-19 cases with the onset of the omicron variant.
The Democrat signed an order that allows state agencies and departments to use state resources to assist the New Jersey healthcare system and affected communities responding to and recovering from COVID-19 cases, Murphy’s office said.
“As I stand here today, we are registering nearly 35,000 new cases a day,” Murphy said in remarks. “In the past two weeks alone, more than 10,000 of our fellow New Jerseyans have required hospitalization due to COVID.”
PUSH TO LIMIT GOV. INSLEE’S EMERGENCY POWERS GAIN LEGISLATIVE TRACTION
Murphy said “though these numbers” serve as a “stark reminder of the seriousness of this moment in our history,” he remains optimistic that “we are moving forward in defeating this virus.”
“Even today, the vast majority of our schools are open,” Murphy said. “We have recovered 70% of the jobs lost due to the pandemic. Our children are back on playgrounds, back in the gym, and back on the ice.”
Murphy stressed the importance of wanting to squash any “misinformation,” explaining that the re-implementation of a state of emergency did not mean “any new universal mandates or passports. It does not mean lockdowns. It does not mean any business restrictions or gathering limits. It does not mean going backward from any of the progress we’ve made together over the past 22 months.”
Effective immediately, I have reinstated a Public Health Emergency in New Jersey.
This step does not mean any new restrictions. It simply allows state government to continue to respond to the ongoing threat that COVID-19 poses to our daily lives.https://t.co/E0G6JwzMuh pic.twitter.com/WS7NLkcVu6
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) January 11, 2022
A total of 1,892,142 coronavirus cases have been reported in New Jersey, according to the New York Times COVID-19 Map and Case Count Tracker, with 29,634 coronavirus-related deaths.
As of Jan. 10, the state had seen a daily average of 31,699 cases, with a more than 120% increase within the last 14 days, according to The New York Times. The state reported experiencing a daily average of 60 deaths, with a more than 203% increase within the last 14 days.
Murphy said the state of emergency means New Jersey will be able to move forward with a “coordinated and responsible approach to putting omicron and COVID behind us” and will keep healthcare workers and students safe while also allowing businesses, communities, and schools to remain open.
The last public health emergency expired in June, which Murphy said was possible thanks to the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines. The new one will expire in 30 days unless it is renewed, Murphy’s office said.
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Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, have also declared states of emergency in an effort to curb the spike of COVID-19 cases in their states.
On Monday, the United States reported 1.35 million new coronavirus cases, the highest daily count in any country around the world, Reuters reported.
