Today Governor Murphy announced that there were 2,089 new positive cases and an additional 7 confirmed deaths resulting from COVID-19. To date, there have been 236,523 confirmed cases, and 14,546 confirmed deaths. The rate of transmission is at 1.26, and spot positivity as of October 25 was 6.54%. While the Governor did not state that a rollback and/or additional restrictions were imminent, he did describe the current rise in cases as a “second wave” and continued to urge residents to socially distance, wear masks, and continue hand hygiene. The State continues to ask residents to download and use the new Covid Alert NJ, the State’s exposure notification smartphone app.
Since our last update, Governor Murphy issued the following COVID-19 related Executive Orders:
Executive Order 191 extending the declared public health emergency by an additional 30 days. As a reminder, a declared public health emergency expires after 30 days unless renewed.
Executive Order 192 requiring employers, including public sector employers, follow health and safety protocols to protect their in-person workforce. The order goes into effect on November 5 at 6:00 a.m. For more information, please see the League’s recent blog post.
On Monday, the Governor announced the state’s COVID-19 vaccination plan was submitted to the CDC on October 16. The plan calls for an all-of-government approach to a wide-scale vaccination program with the goal to vaccinate 70% of the adult population in a six-month period. Currently, there are several vaccines in Phase 3 clinical trials but some of the vaccines will require a two-dose regimen, 21 to 28 days apart. The Department of Health has a COVID-19 Vaccination webpage that includes FAQs, the COVID-19 Vaccination Plan, and an executive summary of the plan.
On Tuesday, the Governor updated the list of states and territories subject to the Travel quarantine and advisory to include 41 states and territories. While Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Delaware now meet New Jersey’s travel advisory criteria, due to the interconnected nature of the region and mode of transport between New Jersey and the three states, a 14-day quarantine is not reasonable in all instances. Non-essential travel to and from these states, however, is highly discouraged at this time.
For the week ending October 24, the New Jersey Labor Department announced 27,201 new unemployment applications. This was a 5% decline in new unemployment claims.
As a reminder, the Governor recently announced that Halloween activities can go forward with local guidance provided by the New Jersey Department of Health to local officials, schools, outside organizations, and businesses. Please see our recent blog post for more information on the Halloween guidance.
Contact: Mike Cerra, Executive Director, mcerra@njlm.org, 609-695-3481 x120.