TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy returned home from his week-long Central American family vacation in Costa Rica and immediately touted his 2021 successes dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A second-year into a once-in-a-century pandemic, we achieved some of the highest vaccination numbers in the country while continuing to move forward in our mission to build a stronger and fairer New Jersey for all,” Murphy said upon his arrival back in the Garden State.
The state, however, is much different than the one he left just one week ago. COVID-19 is soaring out of control with 27,000 cases reported Thursday, a record-crushing day. Residents are having trouble finding COVID-19 testing appointments at state run clinics and many are booked solid through the middle of January. COVID-19 at-home test kits are sold out in many stores and pharmacies and now, even standard cold and flu medicines are running out in many locations, residents are claiming.
“These photos provide a snapshot into the triumphs and challenges of year four of the Murphy Administration,” the Governor said.
Murphy provided a photo gallery of his accomplishments, the one featured above shows him speaking in front of an empty auditorium to give his State of the State Address as indoor restrictions were placed on large gatherings.
In another, a double-masked Murphy is seen getting his first COVID-19 vaccination back in April. In others photos, Murphy is seen maskless with other residents of New Jersey, also maskless, despite his constant call to practice safe COVID-19 health and safety rules.
Last week, while on vacation, President Joe Biden asked Murphy if all was well in New Jersey. From his villa in Costa Rica, Murphy acknowledged that all was well back at home.
It’s not.
New Jersey has one of the highest vaccination rates in America, but is now one of the most infected states in the country as the omicron variant sinks the governor’s entire COVID-19 begins to sink beneath the waves that will soon be dotted with hundreds of huge windmills.
In November, weeks before leaving for his Christmas vacation, Murphy touted the fact that he and his entire family also received their booster shots. Shots that have thus far, not stopped the spread of the omicron variant across the state.
Many of the latest COVID-19 patients in New Jersey over the past week have reported they are fully boosted and fully vaccinated. The state has not released any data on actual counts in the wake of the latest wave of the pandemic. A month ago, Murphy acknowledged 47% of all COVID-19 related hospitalizations were among the fully vaccinated, a number that could be significantly higher in the week since he left for his vacation.
“On March 4th, 2020, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported in New Jersey. In the face of a once-in-a-century pandemic, our New Jersey family pulled together like never before, followed the science and data, and crushed the curves,
Murphy said as COVID-19 runs rampant across New Jersey. “One year later, we can finally see the light of a new day beginning to break on the horizon with over two million vaccines doses administered across our state and many more to come. These photos provide a snapshot into the Murphy Administration’s nation-leading COVID-19 response.”