NJ governor begs people to get vaccinated, warns he will bring back mask warrants “if we have to”



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New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday urged unvaccinated residents of the state to get vaccinated against Covid, telling CNBC in an interview that he hopes health restrictions will not need to be reapplied public such as mask warrants.

The Democratic governor’s comments on “Squawk Box” come as coronavirus cases in the United States rise sharply, as the highly contagious delta variant circulates. However, the recent daily average level of new infections remains well below the country’s peak at the start of this year.

The increase in infections particularly affects areas with low vaccination rates, according to US officials. President Joe Biden said last week: “Look, the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated.”

Murphy used similar language in his CNBC interview on Tuesday. “We have probably 350 people in our hospital. We keep them in our prayers. But I dare say they are not all vaccinated. So I would just continue to… advocate for people to get vaccinated.”

“Variants are all over our state,” he said. “I would beg people to get vaccinated, and if they do, that doesn’t mean you can’t catch Covid. But it does, in large part, mean that you are going to stay out of the hospital and stay out of the hospital. please God to stay alive. “

The seven-day average of new daily coronavirus cases in New Jersey is around 422, up nearly 50% from a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. However, it is considerably lower than in mid-January, when the seven-day average of New Jersey’s daily new infections peaked at nearly 6,200. At that time, the US vaccination campaign was only halfway through. at its beginnings.

The country’s seven-day average of new daily coronavirus cases is 34,730, a 47% increase from a week ago, according to CNBC’s analysis of Johns Hopkins data. The highest seven-day average of new daily infections on record in the United States was around 251,000 at the start of January. Coronavirus cases rise in 46 states and Washington, DC

Murphy acknowledged that the Covid situation in New Jersey had recently worsened, but said it was relative.

“The good news is that the overall metrics, if you look at hospital admissions, positivity rates, critically ill people in intensive care, transmission rate, and so on. still largely in very good shape, ”he said. “We continue to vaccinate several thousand people, if not more, per day with their first vaccine.”

Nearly 49% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated and 56.1% have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over 55% of the total population of New Jersey is fully vaccinated.

According to the CDC, fully vaccinated people can “resume their activities without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart, except as required by federal, state, local, tribal or tribal laws, rules and regulations. territorial guidelines, including local company and workplace guidelines. “

Last week, officials in Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous, reinstated its indoor mask mandate, including for fully vaccinated people, due to the increase in coronavirus cases.

When asked if New Jersey would follow the LA County action on the masks, Murphy said, “For now, I hope we don’t have to do this.” In general, the governor has said New Jersey does not want to reinstate Covid restrictions, most of which were lifted in early June. “If we have to, we will,” he warned.

“I hope… we’re going to be able to stay where we are, but you never say never,” added Murphy. “This virus dictates the terms, not us, and we will continue to look at it like a hawk.”

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