TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said Wednesday 56 more people have died statewide from COVID-19, some in the hospital, struggling since before Labor Day. Murphy has declared that nobody should leave the state for non-essential activities.
“We are also now formally changing our advisory regarding travel. First and foremost – and this is the most important point – no one should be traveling out of state for anything beyond that which is essential for your daily life, commuting to work or seeking medical treatment, for example,” Murphy said. “We understand that New Jerseyans may need to travel into neighboring states, such as New York and Pennsylvania, for shopping, worship, or similar daily or transient activities, but if you do travel outside our immediate region or if you are coming into New Jersey from another state, we strongly encourage you to observe a 14-day self-quarantine period and at the right point get tested.”
The governor said there are very few exceptions to this advisory including front-line healthcare workers, members of law enforcement, and active-duty military personnel traveling to New Jersey on orders or directives.
“Otherwise, we’re asking everyone to simply not travel unless it is for essential – an essential purpose,” Murphy said.
“We can never forget that behind every one of the numbers that we report each day is a human face, including those of the more than 17,000 New Jerseyans who have died because of this virus either confirmed or probable,” the governor added. “If you need a reason to fight through this pandemic fatigue – and you’ve got fatigue. So do we. We get it, but you’ve got to keep fighting or to keep masking up or continuing to maintain social distances or to not crowd around a bar or in this season when we want nothing more than to be together to feel good in politely declining an invitation to an upcoming indoor holiday party.”