TRENTON, N.J. – Governor Phil Murphy threatened state residents on Friday, warning that he does not like recent COVID-19 trends in the Garden State.
If it doesn’t change, Murphy says he’ll use his power to re-tighten restrictions.
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“We are not past #COVID19. I am not announcing any specific action today, but consider this as being put on-notice,” Murphy tweeted. “We will not tolerate these devil-may-care, nonchalant attitudes any more.”
We are not past #COVID19.
I am not announcing any specific action today, but consider this as being put on-notice.
We will not tolerate these devil-may-care, nonchalant attitudes any more.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) July 31, 2020
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It’s unclear what changes Murphy might impliment and the Governor did not elaborate. New Jersey is already at a higher level of lockdown state-wide than just about any other jurisdiction in the United States. At his Friday press conference, Murphy cited a spot positivity of 2.15% and rate of transmission of 1.35% as the reasons for his concern.
“The numbers are setting off alarms. We’re standing at a very dangerous place. The only way to silence these alarms is for everyone to take them seriously. All of you,” said Murphy.
At the same time, the Murphy Administration confirmed only 352 confirmed hospitalizations and, for the first time since March, zero confirmed hospital deaths over the past 24 hours. Deceptive case counting practices and a continued increase in testing capacity have been downplayed by the Administration as reasons for continued concern.
New Jersey did have the nation’s second highest unemployment rate in June at 16.6%.
