NJ governor asks people to get vaccinated and warns that he will bring back mask mandates “if we have to”

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on Tuesday urged the state’s unvaccinated residents to get a Covid shot and told CNBC in an interview that he hoped there was no need to revert to public health restrictions like masking requirements to introduce.

The Democratic governor’s comments on the “Squawk Box” come as US coronavirus cases rise sharply while the highly contagious Delta variant is in circulation. However, the average number of recent daily new infections remains well below the country’s peak earlier this year.

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

Murphy used similar language in his CNBC interview Tuesday. “We have probably 350 people in our hospital. We keep them in our prayers. But I dare say they are all unvaccinated. So I would just keep … asking people to get vaccinated.”

“The variants are all over our state,” he said. “I would ask people to get vaccinated and if they do it doesn’t mean they can’t get Covid. But it mostly means that you will stay out of the hospital and please God stay alive.” . “

According to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University data, the seven-day average of new daily coronavirus cases in New Jersey is about 422, nearly 50% more than a week ago. However, it is dramatically lower than in mid-January, when the seven-day average of new daily infections in New Jersey peaked at nearly 6,200. At that time, the US vaccination campaign was still in its infancy.

The seven-day average of the country’s new daily coronavirus cases is 34,730, up 47% from a week ago, according to CNBC analysis of the Johns Hopkins data. The highest seven-day average of new daily infections ever recorded in the US was around 251,000 in early January. Coronavirus cases are increasing in 46 states and Washington, DC

Murphy admitted that New Jersey’s Covid situation has worsened recently 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, transfer rates, etc. are largely in very good shape,” he said first vaccine. “

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

According to the CDC, fully vaccinated individuals “can resume activities without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart, unless otherwise permitted by federal, state, local, tribal, laws, rules and regulations. or territorial level required, including local business and workplace guidelines. “

Last week, officials in Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the country, reintroduced their mask mandate for indoor use, including those fully vaccinated, due to rising coronavirus cases.

When asked if New Jersey would follow LA County’s measures on masks, Murphy said, “For now, I hope we don’t have to.” In general, the governor said New Jersey wanted the Covid restrictions, which the governor said most of which were repealed by early June, will not come back into force. “If we have to, we will,” he warned.

“I hope … we can stay where we are, but you never say never,” added Murphy. “This virus is dictating the conditions, not us, and we will continue to watch it like a hawk.”