New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy | Michael Mancuso-Pool/Getty Images
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday outlined four broad goals that need to be achieved before the state can begin to reopen for business, but gave no specific date for when that would happen.
However, in announcing his “Road Back” plan during his daily news briefing in Trenton, Murphy said the stay-at-home order that has been in effect since March 21 “will remain in effect in its entirety until further notice.“
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New Jersey has been on virtual lockdown for the past five weeks, with all schools and “non-essential” businesses closed. About 860,000 New Jerseyans have filed for unemployment since the pandemic’s onset early last month, and some Republicans are clamoring for the governor to allow a limited reopening of the economy.
Murphy announced 2,146 positive Covid-19 cases on Monday, bringing the statewide total to 111,188, the second-highest in the nation behind New York. He also announced a further 106 deaths, bringing that total to 6,044 since early March.
Pressed later during the briefing, Murphy estimated the state will start the reopening process in a “number of weeks.”
“I would not say it’s a number of months, but I’d also remind folks that these viruses come back,” he said.
The governor’s Road Back plan is largely in line with what he has said for weeks.
Per guidelines released by the Trump administration, the state would need to see several measures of the virus’ spread consistently decline over 14 days, including positive test results and hospitalizations, Murphy said. While the daily reports of new tests results have remained largely constant for the past several weeks, the number of hospitalizations has been trending down, particularly at facilities in the state’s northern and central counties.
New Jersey would also have to double its testing capacity, which Murphy recently said might be helped by a new saliva test developed at Rutgers University that can deliver results in 24 to 48 hours.
The governor said once testing is ramped up, the state will need to engage in “robust” contact tracing, employing an “army” of people to trace the contacts of infected residents.
Murphy said it could take anywhere from 1,300 to over 7,000 people to conduct the work. The state may partner with tech companies to develop products that could assist in tracing patients to mitigate further spread, he said, naming three companies or nonprofits that could potentially help — Google, Salesforce and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
The fourth step, Murphy said, would be to provide those who test positive with a “safe and free place to isolate themselves” and to support them with “wrap-around” services.”
“Restarting our economy and returning people to work will be done methodically, strategically and responsibly,” he said. “This is our fifth principle.“
The governor on Tuesday plans to announce members of a Restart and Recovery Commission to plan which businesses may open first based on how essential they are to the state’s economy and how much disease transmission risk they pose.
“Then, we can move up the matrix, bringing more businesses and activities online until we achieve a fully functioning and open economy,” Murphy said.
The final stage of the plan is to develop a state stockpile of personal protective equipment, ventilators and other supplies to deal with a “rebound” of Covid-19 or another strain.
“This road map is designed with one goal only — to restore the health, strength and well-being of New Jersey for the long term,” Murphy said. “Until we give the public confidence that they should not be fearful, we cannot take further steps. A plan that is needlessly rushed is a plan that will needlessly fail.”
Many other aspects of the plan remain unknown, with Murphy not saying whether there would be a regional approach within the state when determining which businesses could reopen.
Murphy did say the reopening won’t be done on a “last in, first out” basis, meaning the types of businesses that were closed first won’t necessarily be the first to reopen. For instance, he said, concert venues — some of which would not have been able to open under one of Murphy’s first orders limiting gatherings to under 250 people — will likely be one of the last businesses to open.
Republicans said Murphy should have followed New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s lead and outlined planned budget cuts to deal with the massive revenue shortfalls that are expected because of the business closures, instead of indicating the state will borrow billions from the federal government — a move that could lead to higher taxes.
“Economically, it boils down to this: Appoint a commission to study our problems and go to the Fed and beg for money,” state Republican Chairman Doug Steinhardt said in a statement. “Insider politicians suggest commissions, studies and talk. What New Jersey needs right now is leaders to lead. Revenue projections are down. There are one million unemployed New Jerseyans waiting for jobs, benefits and answers.”
Sam Sutton contributed to this report.
