TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said on Friday everything is on the table and he’s going to do what he thinks he has to do to curb the latest outbreak of COVID-19, even if that means returning to 2020 style lockdown orders.
“The pandemic is still in our midst and unfortunately, still raging,” Murphy said at a supply chain press conference on Friday.
Murphy announced Friday that nearly 2,000 patients are in the hospital with COVID-19, nearly half them, fully vaccinated. Over 250 people were admitted in the past 24 hours. There were 21 deaths overnight between Thursday and Friday, Murphy announced.
“This thing is still with us and sadly, the numbers are going up,” he said. “While omicron is listed as a small amount in cases in New Jersey, I’m here to tell you it’s much more prevalent than that.”
The Governor said he fears the state may be headed in the direction of another round of business lockdowns, closures and capacity limits. Bans on indoor dining and other indoor activities could be announced by Murphy in the near future.
“My fear is we’re going to be getting back to capacity limits at some point,” Murphy said.