NJ Gov. Murphy Declares State Of Emergency Because Of Coronavirus

NEW JERSEY – Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency and a public health emergency, effective immediately, to ramp up New Jersey’s efforts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

The new declaration comes as dozens of schools and colleges have announced closures to deal with the virus. Read more: Coronavirus NJ School Closures: Here's The Latest

Executive Order No. 103 declares a state of emergency and public health emergency across all 21 counties in New Jersey, allowing state agencies and departments to utilize state resources to assist affected communities responding to and recovering from COVID-19 cases.

Murphy declared the emergency soon after officials announced that the number of new coronavirus cases in New Jersey nearly doubled since Sunday. Five additional cases were identified on Monday; the state's overall number is now 11.

“The state of New Jersey is committed to deploying every available resource, across all levels of government, to help respond to the spread of COVID-19 and keep our residents informed,” said Murphy. “My administration will continue to work closely with our federal partners to ensure that local health agencies on the front lines of the state’s response are equipped with the resources needed to further prepare our health care system for a broader spread of COVID-19.”

The declaration tasks the state director of emergency management and superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, Col. Patrick Callahan, in conjunction with New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, to oversee the implementation of the state emergency operations plan and generally direct the state’s emergency response.

Additionally, the declaration triggers other executive powers and safeguards, such as prohibiting excessive price increases pursuant to New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act, and the ability to waive certain procurement procedures to expedite the delivery of goods and services necessary for coronavirus preparedness and response efforts.

Murphy’s emergency declaration also empowers all state agencies, specifically the departments of Banking and Insurance, Health, Human Services, and the Civil Service Commission to take all appropriate steps to address the public health hazard of COVID-19.

For a copy of Executive Order No. 103 click here.

On Monday, state officials said the five new people identified were:

• An 18-year-old from Clifton whose symptoms developed on March 6. The person is not hospitalized and possibly got the disease from someone in New York on March 2.
• A 48-year-old from Berkeley Heights whose symptoms developed on March 1. The person was hospitalized at Overlook Medical Center in Summit. He had symptomatic friends from Italy, but they all tested negative.
• A woman, 83, from Hazlet who is being treated at Hackensack Meridian Health Bayshore Medical Center.
• A man, 27, from Little Silver who is being treated at Hackensack Meridian Health Riverview Medical Center (recently attended the Biogen conference in Boston) Read more: Two New Cases Of Coronavirus Identified In Monmouth County
• A 30-year-old from Teaneck who developed symptoms on March 3 and is hospitalized at Holy Name in Teaneck.

"The new cases are concerning but they're not unexpected," Persichilli said.

The Port Authority's executive director also has tested positive for the new coronavirus, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Monday.

Read more: Head Of Port Authority Of NY/NJ Tests Positive For Coronavirus

And in an interview, the 32-year-old physician's assistant who was the first patient who tested positive for novel coronavirus in the Garden State said his decline was a rapid one.

Read more: 'It Happened So Quick:' NJ's First Coronavirus Patient Speaks Out

You can watch the press conference here:

Two presumptive positive cases of the new coronavirus were identified in New Jersey on Sunday. Investigations were also underway for potential cases in nine counties.

"From north to south, the coronavirus seems to be spreading," Persichilli told reports in a conference call.

This weekend, Persichilli said one person who was diagnosed was identified as a 70-year-old man from Teaneck and is hospitalized at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson. The man, who is a health care worker, is in the intensive care unit.

His symptoms developed on Feb. 6 and he was admitted on March 6, officials said.

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Persichilli said the health department hasn't been able to do all of its interviews so the state is not fully aware of what contacts the patient had.

The second person is a 32-year-old man from West New York. He also developed symptoms on Feb. 28 and was admitted to Hackensack University Medical Center on March 5. The state also needs to do more interviews so New Jersey can be aware of his contacts.

On Sunday, Persichilli said the state was tracking 27 people who are under investigation. Here is where they are:

• Bergen: 9
• Camden 1
• Cumberland 2
• Essex 3
• Hunterdon 2
• Middlesex 2
• Monmouth 4
• Union 3
• Sussex 1

Persichilli said a Westchester rabbi who visited a synagogue in Passaic last week and an Uber driver who transported people to New Jersey were also under investigation.

Persichilli also revealed two of the people who have been diagnosed visited either City MD Paramus on Route 4 or Cooper University Urgent Care on Route 70 in Cherry Hill.

New Jersey had 15 cases under investigation on Sunday. Of those, two came back positive and seven came back negative, officials said.

One of the positive cases involved an attendee of the Conservative Political Action Conference. He attended from Feb. 27 though March 1, officials said, but he didn't have any contact with President Trump or Vice President Mike Pence.

The Murphy administration said the individual, a man in his 50s, is hospitalized at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Bergen County. The individual has been hospitalized since Thursday.

The person was the fourth presumptive positive case in New Jersey. Read more: 4th Presumptive Positive Case of Coronavirus In NJ

In West New York, Mayor Gabriel Rodriguez said he directed his town's health department to
immediately undertake a Public Health Action Plan, including a full investigation of the individual’s timeline, to assess the risk to public health.

He also said the individual does not have any children who are students in the West New York school district.

This is a developing story. Please check with Patch for updates.