NJ Public Health Emergency Extended To Fight 'Omicron Tsunami'

NEW JERSEY — With just hours left before some of the most unpopular executive orders of his career were going to expire — specifically the K-12 mask mandate in schools — Gov. Phil Murphy yet again declared another public health emergency in New Jersey, citing the extremely high numbers of COVID positives.

By declaring the state of emergency, Murphy is able to unilaterally extend a number of his emergency executive orders, all of which were set to expire at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. He does not need agreement from the state Legislature.

Some of those orders that would have otherwise expired Tuesday night include the K-12 mask mandate in NJ schools and twice-weekly mandated COVID testing for teachers and healthcare workers who are not vaccinated.

This latest Public Health Emergency will expire after 30 days, unless renewed. This latest state of emergency comes with no new restrictions.

The number of positive cases in New Jersey continue to be the highest they've ever been, with 21,483 new case positives on Tuesday. Currently, 6,075 people in the state are hospitalized with COVID-19 but only 2,963 are hospitalized because their main illness is coronavirus, according to the Department of Health.

With a population of about 8.8 million people in New Jersey, this means that .03 percent of the state is currently sickened with COVID seriously enough to be hospitalized.

It also means that thirteen percent of those 21,483 who do have COVID have it seriously enough to require hospitalization. About 70 percent of those hospitalized with the virus are not fully vaccinated, said the Dept. of Health.

Similarly, there are 82 children, or those under 18, hospitalized with COVID-positive tests right now. But of those, 27 were admitted because they have COVID-19, said the health commissioner. The rest are incidental positives.

“COVID-19 remains a significant threat to our state and we must commit every resource available to beating back the wave caused by the omicron variant,” said Murphy. “While we hope to return to a state of normalcy as soon as possible, the step I am taking today is a commonsense measure that will protect the safety and well-being of all New Jersey residents."

Murphy's order Tuesday was met with either frustration or understanding, depending who you ask.

Bob Hugin, chairman of the New Jersey Republican Party, called it a "stunning act of continuing government overreach."

"He's doubling down on practices that may or may not work, specifically mask wearing," said Monmouth Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger, a Republican. "After two years we seem to be doubling down on the same things that haven't helped in the past. People know the risks and the precautions they should take. At some point you have to trust people to make these decisions for themselves. The mandates are demoralizing and do more harm than good."

Others in New Jersey disagreed.

"With the growing number of children in hospitals and with several in intensive care, as a parent and legislator, doing all we can to reduce the spread of COVID is the most responsible thing to do. And that includes, for the time being, masking," countered state Sen. Joe Vitale, a Democrat from Middlesex County.

Last week, Murphy asked the state Legislature to extend his emergency orders for another 90 days. However, his request did not get enough votes from even within his own Democratic Party and a 45-day extension was proposed by Democratic lawmakers in Trenton as a compromise. But then, in a stunning twist Monday, outgoing Senate President Steve Sweeney, declined to even bring up the 45-day extension up for a vote, saying he felt "disrespected" the governor did not consult with the Legislature before extending the school mask mandate.

"We are an equal branch of government. I wasn't consulted. It's just aggravating," Sweeney told Politico.

Murphy stressed Tuesday he was trying to find a solution.

“I'm confident enough that we're going to have a good statewide solution," Murphy told MSNBC Tuesday, shortly before declaring this latest state of emergency.

“Despite what the governor has said, his action was not taken ‘in consultation with the Legislature,'" countered Sen. Anthony Bucco (R-Denville). "His own party said they weren’t consulted, and neither were Republicans. In fact, the Legislature chose to not extend his emergency powers when given the opportunity Monday ... We need to give people hope that life is returning to normal, not returning to one man’s rule by executive order.”

This is a developing story. Patch will have more information as it comes in. Get great local news. Sign up for Patch emails: https://patch.com/subscribe Contact this Patch reporter: Carly.baldwin@patch.com

This article originally appeared on the Woodbridge Patch