TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey and five other states will work together to reopen their economies once the coronavirus outbreak begins to subside, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday.
It’s not clear yet when the region would begin to reopen, and Murphy stressed that the public health crisis first has to be under control before the states begin relaxing stay-at-home and other orders.
“The house is still on fire. We still have to put the fire out, but we do have to begin putting in the pieces of the puzzle that we know we’re going to need … to make sure this doesn’t reignite,” Murphy said.
Murphy, a Democrat, announced the regional cooperation effort on a conference call with fellow Democratic Govs. Ned Lamont of Connecticut, John Carney of Delaware, Andrew Cuomo of New York, Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania and Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island.
New Jersey has begun to see signs that social distancing is having a positive effect, but he stressed it’s too early to relax the stay-at-home order he signed on March 21.
A look at other developments:
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NEW CASES
New Jersey added about 3,000 more cases in the latest count, bringing the statewide total to nearly 65,000. The death toll climbed by 94 to 2,443.
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IN ALL NURSING HOMES
COVID-19 is in 324 out of 375 of the state’s nursing homes, Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said Monday. She said the Health Department is assuming the virus is in all of the state’s facilities.
The state already has restricted visitors and requires all staff to wear masks. In at least one case, the residents of one nursing home were relocated to another facility because too many of the staff were out with the virus.
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BEWARE THE BOOMERANG
The rate at which the number of positive cases doubles is going up across the state, a sign that social distancing measures are beginning to take effect, Murphy said.
But the number of cases are still rising, the governor pointed out.
“If we stop doing what we’re doing, COVID-19 can boomerang on us,” Murphy said.
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PHONE AND INTERNET SERVICE
People who lost their internet or phone service for failing to pay since March 16 could have it restored under an order the governor signed Monday.
The order also bars internet and phone providers from cutting off service until up to 30 days after the end of the current public health emergency ends. An end date has not been specified.
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PRIMARY, TAX DAY, BUDGET
New Jersey lawmakers voted Monday to push the state’s primary election, income tax and state budget deadlines later.
The Democrat-led Assembly and Senate held sessions over the phone and passed a number of bills in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
One measure delays the primary from June 2 to July 7, while the state income tax deadline will mirror the federal date of July 15, instead of April 15. The state fiscal year, which was set to end on June 30, will now end Sept. 30 under another bill.
The governor, also a Democrat, has said he supports the changes.
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FIELD HOSPITALS
The state’s two field hospitals for non-COVID-19 cases have begun to take on patients.
The 250-bed facility in Secaucus will have 62 patients by late Monday, Persichilli said.
The 500-bed field hospital in Edison has four patients, she said.
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ABOUT THE VIRUS
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in a couple of weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
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This story has been corrected to show that Andrew Cuomo is the governor of New York, not Pennsylvania.
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