TRENTON, NJ – After being defeated in the New Jersey Senate Democrats, who rejected New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s request for a 90-day pandemic power extension, Governor Phil Murphy today has declared a new public health state of emergency.
“Effective immediately, I have reinstated a Public Health Emergency in New Jersey.This step does not mean any new restrictions. It simply allows state government to continue to respond to the ongoing threat that COVID-19 poses to our daily lives,” the governor said today.
Murphy said the spread of omicron and the increase in positive tests since December factored into his decision and said he will rely on vaccination to get New Jersey to the other side of the pandemic.
The Governor said the Democrat legislature gave him the green light to redeclare a public health emergency.
“In consultation with the of the legislature, I have taken the necessary step in redeclaring a public health emergency,” Murphy said. “To ensure we keep moving forward in our response to covid, so we can put this response behind us.”
Murphy said his declaration doesn’t mean any new universal mandates, lockdowns, passports and indoor restriction limits. It does mean that students will continue to be forced to wear facemasks for the near future.
“In your day-to-day life, this won’t have any impact at all,” Murphy said. “This decision is based on science and facts, not politics and conspiracy theories.”