By Matt Rooney
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Wait until my old friend Bill Spadea hears about this one, Save Jerseyans…
Governor Phil Murphy took to Twitter on Monday as a blizzard buried most of New Jersey in heavy snow and ice and offered some curious advice for residents preparing to dig out.
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“Remember: COVID will not take a snow day,” Murphy tweeted. “If you’re heading out today or tomorrow to help your neighbors shovel, please remember to stay safe. Wear a mask.”
Remember: COVID will not take a snow day.
If you’re heading out today or tomorrow to help your neighbors shovel, please remember to stay safe. Wear a mask.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) February 1, 2021
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Is he trolling? He must be.
Outdoor spread is rare, folks. I’d challenge Phil to identify a single case of transmission linked to neighbors shoveling or working in their yards.
Spoiler alert: he’d come up empty. It’s not a thing!
I’d argue this advice isn’t just overkill and stupid, but it’s also dangerously stupid. You don’t need to be a doctor or a scientist to appreciate why. No one is going to catch COVID-19 and die this year from shoveling their elderly neighbor’s snow, but some people will sadly suffer cardiac events from shoveling slushy, heavy snow on their sidewalks. It’s hard enough to breathe when you’re moving the white stuff and sucking in cold air; adding a tight-fitting mask to the mix is likely a really, really bad idea for anyone who is already at high risk from this sort of unusual strenuous physical activity.
I know virtue-signaling is more important to some New Jerseyans than their health.
As for the rest of you? Exercise your common sense and ignore this jackass for the duration of the blizzard (and, while your at it, until January 2022 when he hopefully leaves office).
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