NJ Starts 'Robust' Coronavirus Test, Contact Tracing For Reopen

NEW JERSEY – Gov. Phil Murphy, speaking during a Tuesday news conference, revealed a "robust" coronavirus testing and contact tracing plan needed for reopening New Jersey's economy, he says. The plan includes testing all residents and staff at long-term care facilities (you can see the steps below).

Murphy, who also announced 898 new coronavirus cases and 198 more deaths on Tuesday, additionally said he plans to provide "hard dates" for reopening the state's economy by the end of the week. Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

In announcing his plan, Murphy appeared to direct his words toward a growing number of New Jersey lawmakers who have been calling on the governor to reopen the state's economy sooner, if not today.

Murphy spoke to the "Nostradamuses out there" who say New Jersey should be able to open significant parts of the economy, and predict that the state will be able to deal with the consequences.

One of them was state Sen. Declan O'Scanlon, R-Red Bank, who sent out a tweet Saturday night calling for "rebellion" and for people to "defy Gov. Murphy." Read more: Monmouth State Senator Calls For 'Rebellion, Defy Gov. Murphy'

Murphy pointed to a chart that shows New Jersey, despite its progress, still has too many cases.

"I want you to commit that chart to memory," Murphy asked the lawmakers. "Those numbers don't lie. We are still the most impacted state in America."

Here is the chart which shows that New Jersey has the highest coronavirus numbers nationwide in several categories per capita:

Murphy said the "road back is paved with five words: public health creates economic health."

"We need to give working business owners and customers the confidence that we can move forward," Murphy said.

Here is what Murphy is planning to do right now with contact tracing:

• Initially hire 1,000 additional contact tracers to assist the approximately 800 to 900 who are "on the ground" already, and can trace the origins of transmissions and quarantine those who have been exposed.
• Ultimately hire as many as 5,000 contact tracers. Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said the state will team up with higher institutions in collecting the data.
• Hire a diverse corps of people, many of whom should be "culturally competent and multi-lingual" individuals who can communicate with all New Jersey communities.
• Plan to make those contact tracing positions "good paying jobs," Murphy said. He said they'll be about $25 an hour. You can apply for them here: http://covid19.nj.gov/tracer.
• Have health departments contact people who have been in contact with potentially exposed individuals to the virus. They could be household, occupational or similar types of contacts they've had within 48 hours before a person becomes symptomatic.
• Identify the names of people in contact and follow up with them, and provide them with the steps they need to take in quarantine.
• Defining "close contact" as someone who has had contact with somebody within six feet, and had at least 10 minutes exposure.
• Contracting with CommCare by Dimag to make sure data is centralized and reported, and ensuring that towns and counties are effectively reporting their numbers to the public and the state. Many are still not doing that, and some towns haven't reported new numbers in more than a week. Read more: Latest Release, Ranking Of Town-By-Town NJ Coronavirus Cases

"These truly are the underpinnings – both testing and contact tracing – of the road back," Murphy said. "Without testing and contact tracing working hand-in-hand, we can't get on the road back."

Here is more detail on the program (story continues below graph):

Here is what Murphy is planning in his expanded testing plan:

• Require all residents and staff at long-term care facilities to be tested no later than May 26th, with follow-up testing happening no longer than than one week later
• Expand to 20,000 tests a day across the state by the end of May, a goal Murphy considers a "floor not a ceiling." By comparison, New Jersey was doing 6,000 tests a day by the end of March and 12,000 by the end of April. "We'll know their health status and that means more peace of mind," he said.
• Adding testing sites. New Jersey now has 135, including at least 11 set up by Rite Aid, and CVS will have swab testing by the end of the month.
• Expanding access to testing without a prescription for residents with possible exposure who fall in priority categories, and lack access to a primary care practitioner. "This is particularly important for our communities of colors," Murphy said.
• Having mobile testing units that will go right into communities and open testing sites in institutions of faith.

Murphy noted that New Jersey has shown tremendous progress, and presented a graph that shows it:

Watch Murphy here:

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