Gloucester Twp. Mayor Taking COVID Test After Meeting With Murphy

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Gloucester Township Mayor David Mayer said he intends to get tested for the coronavirus out of an abundance of caution after meeting with Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday.

Murphy abruptly left a news conference at Camden County College on Wednesday after revealing that "five minutes earlier" he learned he had been in proximity Saturday night to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.

“After today’s announcement regarding Governor Murphy’s potential exposure, I was in contact with the Camden County Health Department who is monitoring the situation,” Mayer said. “Given that Governor Murphy tested negative on Monday as well as this afternoon, the health department advised me that there is minimal chance of contracting the virus. However, out of an abundance of caution, I do intend to get tested and will continue to monitor my symptoms.”

Murphy was at the news conference at the college with Rep. Donald Norcross and Camden County officials to announce an additional $14 million in federal funding to help residents and businesses that are struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic. Read more here: Gov. Murphy To Self-Quarantine After Possible COVID Exposure

Murphy left the conference, and he took a rapid test, which came back negative. It was the second time in three days Murphy took a test that came back negative, but he and First Lady Tammy Murphy are canceling all in-person events pending the results of a third test. The governor will self-quarantine through the weekend.

Mayer was in attendance at the news conference, but said that his interaction with Murphy was limited. Officials wore masks and followed the social distancing guidelines as set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“As the Mayor of Gloucester Township, I have always taken the severity of the virus into consideration since the very start of the pandemic and have put the health, safety, and wellness of our residents and employees at the forefront,” Mayer said. “Gloucester Township continues to lead by example by providing our residents with municipal services they expect and deserve utilizing remote technology whenever possible. We will continue to monitor Governor Murphy’s health updates and urge all residents to keep following the recommended CDC guidelines. I wish the Governor and Mrs. Murphy the very best as the Governor leads our state through this pandemic."

As of Wednesday, there have been 1,191 cases of the coronavirus in Gloucester Township since the beginning of the pandemic. Sixty-two Gloucester Township residents have died as a result of the coronavirus.

Countywide, there have been 11,777 cases of the coronavirus in Camden County with 566 confirmed deaths. Trace investigations are underway in all new cases.

"We are continuing to see the number of new cases steadily rise," Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said in a separate statement on Wednesday. "Thirteen days this month have already seen daily totals greater than 50, after we had a single day total that high just once throughout all of September. The good news is that when COVID-19 was spreading rapidly in the spring, it took weeks before we could reliably track its spread. Now we have the capability to see these updates every day, and that gives us the ability to respond much faster. We can flatten the curve again, but we need everyone to refrain from hosting or attending indoor gatherings, wear your mask whenever you are around others, and work with our contact tracing team when they call."

Camden County Freeholder Jonathan Young was among the county officials in attendance at Wednesday's news conference. Camden County Spokesman Dan Keashen said they were not concerned about possible exposure.

"They are a contact of a contact at this point in time, and based on this afternoon's test results, on top of the other precautions that include masking, social distancing and hand hygiene they feel confident that they were not exposed," Keashen said.

With reporting by Carly Baldwin