N.J. reserves the right to ‘shut everything down’ again to fight COVID-19, Murphy says - NJ.com

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Gov. Phil Murphy isn’t ruling out another statewide shutdown as a second wave of COVID-19 continues to escalate in New Jersey.

After the state saw back-to-back days of record coronavirus cases, Murphy was asked during a television interview Monday morning if there’s a number the state would have to hit to issue another near-lockdown order like he did during the first wave in the spring.

“There’s not one number," Murphy said during the appearance on WPIX.

But he added: “Do we reserve the right to shut everything down? Sadly, we have to with these numbers.”

Murphy announced Monday morning that New Jersey is lowering the number of people allowed to gather both indoors and outdoors to battle the spread as Thanksgiving and other holidays approach — the governor’s second tightening of restrictions as cases surge.

“We know where we’ve got weaknesses right now,” Murphy said. “It’s not just in New Jersey, it’s in the country. We know when folks are congregating indoors, on top of each other, without face coverings, we know that’s leading to transmission.”

The comments about a possible shutdown could signal a shift in thinking for Murphy, who in recent weeks has stopped short of saying another stay-at-home order is needed as the Garden State’s COVID-19 figures have steadily risen.

He has instead focused on using more “surgical” and localized restrictions — or “shaving our parameters on the edges,” as Murphy said Monday morning during a separate appearance on MSNBC.

Private indoor gatherings will be dropped from 25 to 10 people and outdoor gatherings from 500 to 150 people, Murphy said.

But the governor said the change does not affect the current 25% capacity limits on indoor dining in the state. Plus, current indoor limits on weddings, funerals, movie theaters, performances, religious services, and political activities — up to 25% of a venue’s capacity, with a maximum of 150 people — will remain, Murphy’s office told NJ Advance Media. Outdoor religious services and political activities will continue to have no limit.

Still, the change does affect parties and other private indoor gatherings, such as holiday dinners or events.

“It’s gotten worse, and it’s gonna get worse,” Murphy said of the pandemic on MSNBC. “So we’ve got to be honest with folks. Particularly with cold weather … with the holidays, this is going to get worse. Please God, it doesn’t get to the levels that we saw in the spring.”

Murphy did say schools continue to be a positive point during the pandemic, with 52 cases of in-school transmission in the state out of about 3,000 buildings.

Asked if the state will close schools if numbers reach a certain level, the governor said: “I hope not. Our school experience has actually been a good one so far.”

“Schools, by the way, are a good example of when you prepare properly, you socially distance, you put barriers up, you mandate masking,” he said on WPIX. “That’s the reason why we’re seeing a low level of transmission in schools — because they’re doing it the right way.”

Murphy is expected to reveal more during his latest coronavirus briefing in Trenton at noon.

New Jersey reported 8,935 cases more COVID-19 cases over the weekend — 4,395 on Saturday and another 4,540 on Sunday.

Both of those figures broke records — but with a caveat. The state’s testing capacity in the spring was about 4,000 tests a day, while current daily testing ranges from between 15,000 to 55,000 a day, according to the state Department of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard. That means there were likely many more cases in the spring that went undetected.

The state’s current reports, however, do not include rapid tests. State health officials estimated that including rapid tests could push the new case reports 10 to 20% higher.

Deaths have so far not risen at the rate they did in the spring, and there were 2,115 patients hospitalized in New Jersey with either confirmed or suspected cases as of Sunday night — far below the more than 8,000 patients during the spring peak.

Still, hospitalizations and daily percent positivity are climbing, and officials warn deaths are likely to increase.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

The state has instituted a few other restrictions in recent days to help fight the spread.

New Jersey bars and restaurants in the state are now required to close indoor dining between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. each day and bar-side seating is banned. Plus, the governor has given local governments the choice to institute 8 p.m. business closings if they want. And all indoor interstate organized sports up to the high school level will be off-limits under the new rules.

Murphy met with governors of four neighboring states Sunday to discuss possibly coordinating new restrictions. They did not reveal any new policies Sunday night, but Murphy said there could soon be an announcement on testing and quarantine policies related to college students returning home from college for the holidays.

“We’re gonna try to do as much as we can regionally,” Murphy said during a separate interview on Fox 29. “Our steps may not be exactly the same. But the overall thematic approach is very consistent across the states.”

On a positive note, Moderna announced its coronavirus vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective. That comes a week after competitor Pfizer Inc. announced its own COVID-19 vaccine appears to be about 90% effective. Federal officials hope to have some rollout of vaccines in the new year.

“The vaccine news is really good,” Murphy said. That’s great. But it’s not here yet. We’re in a heck of a fight. This thing is surging, and we’ve got to stay strong."

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.

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