TOMS RIVER, NJ – The science of Governor Phil Murphy still isn’t making any sense at all. On Friday, Governor Murphy said he will open schools back up so parents can start watching high school sports. That act will allow more outside people inside the sacred and closely guarded COVID-19 school bubble each day.
Now, before you say anything, I fully support opening school and sports, but the science behind what the governor just did makes absolutely no sense.
For the past year, schools have been on COVID-19 lockdown. Nobody gets in or out unless they social distance, wear masks, wash hands, sanitize and beware of each other…and that’s usually just three or so days per week for most districts.
Now, Murphy is opening the doors to allow a wide cross section of people inside those very same schools. Either the science is…or it isn’t. Which is it?
Now, COVID-19 is safe from infecting you at sporting events, but only high school sporting events. It’s still a deadly disease at the collegiate and college level.
“I’m signing an Executive Order today, effective immediately, to allow a limited number of spectators for all indoor and outdoor high school and other youth sporting events,” Murphy said. “Basically, all non-collegiate and non-professional sports. These youth sporting events may choose to allow up to two parents or guardians per athlete under the age of 21 to attend practices and competitions, as long as the attendance of those parents and/or guardians does not cause our indoor events to exceed the 35% of the room’s capacity or 150 people in total, whichever is less. Besides the two parents or guardians per athlete, I’m sorry to say that no other spectators may attend.”
Schools don’t have to comply, Murphy said, if they don’t want to.
“Also, school districts retain the ability to be stricter and not allow any spectators at all should they choose. They can also choose when to implement this new spectator policy if they don’t feel that they’re ready to do so immediately for this weekend’s games,” he added.
So the science in New Jersey right now says that you are safe from COVID-19 in a high school auditorium with 150 others, if the athlete is under the age of 21 only.
Look New Jersey, the more this guy talks, the less it all makes sense.
Many school districts nationwide are open for five-day instruction, they have open sports, they have open spectator policies and none of it is contributing to any larger COVID-19 outbreaks than other aspects of everyday life.
Let’s remember, this is the same guy who said indoor dining will kill you, then was spotted not once, not twice, but three times dining indoors. Then he said bar service will kill you, after being photographed a few months earlier in a bar in Toms River. He also said the virus comes out at 10 pm and shut down restaurants and bars.
It’s time Phil Murphy actually starts to talk about real science, and stop using this arbitrary selective science he has implemented over the past year.