Governor Murphy quietly ends controversial COVID-19 test mandate, continues public health emergency

Robert Walker

TRENTON, NJ – When Governor Phil Murphy announced COVID-19 testing would be required in hospitals and congregate healthcare facilities, it was executed with much fanfare. There were media ops and threats against those who did not comply.

COVID-19 rates have dropped, so the governor quietly rescinded that controversial executive order.

Murphy cites the low rate of COVID-19 in the community and progress in fighting the virus, which is now suspected of having been leaked from a gain of function laboratory in Wuhan, China.

“New Jersey made significant progress in responding to COVID-19 and mitigating its devastating effects, in particular in light of the advent of several effective vaccines that, among other things, had significantly reduced the likelihood of both contracting and transmitting the variants of COVID-19 that were present in the United States at the time,” Murphy said.


The new executive order effectively cancels executive order 244.

In his executive order, Murphy explicitly states that he intends to retain his continued Public Health Emergency executive order (#103).

“The termination of the public health emergency declared by the Governor in Executive Order No. 103 (2020), as extended, shall in no way diminish, limit, or impair the powers of the Governor” pursuant to the Disaster Control Act, and that the State of Emergency declared 2 in Executive Order No. 103 (2020) pursuant to that Act “shall remain in effect until terminated by the Governor,” the new executive order stated.

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