Murphy Quarantines After NJ Bar Visit With Staffer Who Got COVID

HOBOKEN, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy confirmed he and his wife were outside at a Hoboken bar Saturday night with some of his senior staff members, and that's when he was exposed to a staffer who later tested positive for the coronavirus. He subsequently went into quarantine.

Speaking in an interview with 1010WINS Thursday, Murphy said he was with a group of about six people, and they were seated outside at a table. The 1010WINS transcript was released to the media.

The bar was Pilsener Haus & Biergarten, NJ.com reported. The staffer who later tested positive showed up for about 15 minutes at the end of the event, Murphy said.

Murphy said food and drinks were served, and the group was not wearing masks to eat or drink.

"We ourselves took them off," Murphy said, according to a transcript of the interview. "Obviously you can’t eat or drink through a mask ... You're moving around in your inner mingling with folks who are not part of your family or close friends. Folks were wearing masks at least to the best of my recollection. But at the table, you're having a drink, you're eating something, by definition, you're taking your mask off."

Murphy learned Wednesday that one of his senior staff members who was there Saturday night later tested positive for the coronavirus. That staff member is deputy chief of staff for governmental affairs, Mike DeLamater.

"I was not really right up against this person. It was at most 15 minutes and we were outdoors," said Murphy. "It was just a social engagement with a handful of our close friends and colleagues."

A second member of Murphy's staff, communication director Dan Bryan, later also tested positive for the virus, although he is asymptomatic.

Murphy and his wife, Tammy, have since taken two COVID tests and both came back negative. They plan to quarantine through Sunday, and get tested again on Saturday and Monday.

"I think everyone has been tested at this point, and I believe to the best of my knowledge, everybody else, thank God, has been negative," he said.

At a press conference Thursday, Murphy was asked by a reporter whether he should take responsibility for his decision to meet in a bar, and his decision to take off his mask.

"There's no lapse in judgment here," said the governor. "Nobody takes this more seriously than we do. Our entire front office is working from home. We were outside having a beer."

Murphy said he's also trying to give a boost to businesses by showing up at them.

"Tammy and I have been trying to get around the state the best we can responsibly," he said.

Murphy held a news conference via Zoom on Thursday, saying that New Jersey once again has topped 1,000 new daily coronavirus cases and 18 more confirmed deaths were reported.

Murphy told the 1010 Wins reporter that two of his four children are currently living with them at home and: "We frankly don't go near each other. We have a lot of windows open, we eat outside whenever we can, and we wear masks if we are in close contact."