Gov. Murphy on Omicron Variant: NJ “Watching Very Closely”

With fears growing over the spread of the latest COVID-19 variant, Omicron, which was first reported to come out of South Africa, prompting the federal government to install a travel ban from concerned areas on Monday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is keeping abreast of the situation.

“That’s something that we’re watching very closely,” Murphy said. “This is clearly a time when you want to be mindful of where you’re going ... (and) you’ve got to be mindful of what your movements are these days.

“The reality is that as our region is a hub of international travel and commerce, we must be ready now in anticipation of this variant hitting us. There is still very much unknown about this new variant,” Murphy continued. “We are all closely following the research into this variant as it is released, and we are all watching closely as new cases are discovered and reported. We don’t know a lot of the answers yet.”

Murphy has not said whether he would be in favor of returning to COVID-mandated restrictions of the recent past, but anything is on the table. The governor stresses individuals still not fully vaccinated do so, and those who can get a booster do so.

According to NJ.com, the state’s seven-day average for new positive tests increased to 1,882, up approximately 13% from a week ago and up 66% from a month ago.