New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Saturday he and his wife, Tamm,y have both tested negative for coronavirus, after he announced earlier this week he'd been in contact with a person who tested positive for the disease.
“@FirstLadyNJ and I just got #COVID19 tests and thankfully tested negative,” he tweeted. “This pandemic is not over, and we all need to stay vigilant. Wear a mask. Social distance. Wash your hands.”
Murphy on Wednesday left an event early after he was alerted during a press conference that his deputy chief of staff Mike DeLamater had tested positive for COVID-19, reports Politico.
The governor had met with some of his advisers for drinks outside at a bar in Hoboken last Saturday. Demeter was there for about 15 minutes, but hadn't been in close contact with the Murphys for a sustained period, the governor's office reported.
Murphy said the group adhered to state safety guidelines and wore masks while going to their table at the bar, but took them off while they were eating and drinking.
Dan Bryan, a spokesperson for the governor, was not at the gathering but tested positive for COVID. He remains asymptomatic.
Bryan said Friday the administration has tested 66 people at the Trenton building where the governor's office is located, and all of them tested negative.
The governor and his wife canceled further in-person events and went into quarantine, reports The Hill.
"From the beginning, the Governor's Office has taken every precaution to limit the spread of COVID-19. Today's exceedingly cautious steps are part of that ongoing commitment,” spokesperson Mahen Gunaratna said in a statement.
Early in the pandemic, New Jersey, and took strict efforts this summer to reduce cases. However, on Friday, state officials reported nearly 2,000 new COVID cases, which Murphy said the state had not seen since May. Overall, nearly 15,000 have died from coronavirus in New Jersey.
“We’re still in the midst of a pandemic and need everyone to take this seriously,” Murphy said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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