Murphy: NJ Not Considering Closing Its Schools Amid COVID Spike

NEW JERSEY — Even as New Jersey's coronavirus infections and hospitalizations surge and the state tightens restrictions on other activities, Gov. Phil Murphy told CNN that the Garden State's schools are not in danger of a statewide shutdown.

Speaking on CNN's "The Situation Room" on Wednesday, Murphy told Wolf Blitzer the decision by New York City to shutter its schools starting Thursday is not something New Jersey will be following, even as the state had 4,063 new cases and 2,446 people hospitalized with COVID-19.

New York City's transmission rate has risen above 3, the level that triggered an automatic shutdown of its schools. Its bars and restaurants, along with other businesses, remain open.

Blitzer questioned Murphy on why New Jersey's schools were remaining open at a time where restaurants and bars are facing tighter restrictions, and Murphy said he did not see shutting the schools as a necessary step. "Our school experience has been different" from what New York City is seeing, Murphy told Blitzer. "I honestly can't see a scenario where we transpose that (closing schools before businesses)."

As of Wednesday, there have been 56 schools in New Jersey with outbreaks of the coronavirus — the state defines an outbreak as two or more laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases among students or staff within a 14-day period, who are epidemiologically linked within the school setting, do not share a household, and were not identified as close contacts of each other in another setting during standard case investigation or contact tracing.

There have been 239 cases linked to those outbreaks, according to the state health department's COVID-19 database.

Murphy also has said that that number is low considering that New Jersey has 3,000 school buildings. The state and local health departments work with the school districts when there are cases reported to decide the best move forward.

Murphy has noted noted that New Jersey's school districts are following a variety of formats, with some of the smallest districts having fully in-person learning and others with hybrid instruction. A number of districts have shifted to fully remote learning as concerns grow about the coming holidays, but Murphy has said he was willing to let it remain a district-by-district decision.

Click here to get Patch email notifications, or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app. Download here. Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com Follow Brick Patch on Facebook.