TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is on his way to Central America to spend his Christmas vacation in Costa Rica. Murphy is leaving behind a state that is experiencing the largest COVID-19 surge of the entire global pandemic along with delays in testing and the unavailability of home COVID-19 testing kits.
To make matters worse, Murphy has shut down his office until December 30th. In his absence, Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver will assume the role as acting governor.
Murphy is scheduled to leave today. Ahead of his departure, the state reported a record-breaking case total, 12,000 cases in one day. Last week, Murphy said 47% of all new COVID-19 cases are breakthrough cases among fully vaccinated and boosted patients.
Lines at COVID-19 testing centers are hours long and many are being turned away after some sites ran out of tests. Over-the-counter testing kits available at pharmacies across New Jersey have sold out and this week, rationing of testing kits has begun.
“Walmart Inc, Walgreens Boots Alliance and CVS Health Corp have limited sales of at-home COVID-19 testing kits as demand surges due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus,” Reuters reported. “The variant has become dominant in the United States with lightning speed, dashing hopes for a more normal holiday season, resurrecting restrictions and stretching the country’s testing infrastructure ahead of holiday travel and gatherings.”
If you have been sick in the past week or so in New Jersey, you know what kind of nightmare finding proper care can be as the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus sweeps through the state. As the omicron variant sweeps through the state with a feverish pace, backed by record numbers of positive tests per day, thousands of New Jerseyeans are finding it difficult to book appointments for welfare visits, COVID-19 tests and are now finding it nearly impossible to find at-home COVID-19 tests.
Worse, many healthcare providers are already at their maximum capacity with the onslaught of new COVID-19 patients that many don’t have appointments available for days. Many CVS Minute Clinics in New Jersey were booked solid for testing and well visits through Christmas as of Monday morning.
Other healthcare providers are turning away COVID-19 patients because their waiting rooms have been full all weekend. In Jackson Township, New Jersey, reports of COVID-19 patients being turned away from Hackensack Meridian Health’s walk-in medical center were being reported on Saturday, telling patients to ‘arrive early’ on Sunday morning to ensure a visit the following day.
Pharmacy chains CVS, Rite-Aid and Walgreens can’t keep COVID-19 testing kits stocked on the shelves.
At the Ocean County COVID-19 testing center on the campus of Ocean County College, all COVID-19 tests for Wednesday, the last opportunity before Christmas have been booked.
Patients with the latest omicron variant are so far experiencing milder symptoms than those associated with the Delta variant. With New Jersey being one of the most vaccinated states in America, the vaccines are not stopping the spread of the latest variant among the vaccinated.
While health experts claim being fully vaccinated and fully boosted can limit the severity of the disease, health experts across the board are now admitting the vaccines might not stop the spread of the latest variant.
To make matters worse, this fall and winter, New Jersey healthcare providers have been firing unvaccinated workers, just weeks before the omicron variant caught the nation by surprise, according to Vice President Kamala Harris.
It’s not just New Jersey, the Atlantic reported this week, America is not prepared for omicron.