State lawmakers are set to allow a number of Gov. Phil Murphy’s remaining emergency COVID-19 powers and orders in New Jersey to expire Tuesday — including mandates for masks in schools and for teachers and health-care workers to be vaccinated or face regular testing — even though the state is in the midst of another big wave of the pandemic.
The decision could force Murphy to declare another public-health emergency to keep the measures in place as New Jersey reports tens of thousands of new cases a day, hospitalizations reach levels not since April 2020, and a rising daily death rate amid a global surge driven by the highly contagious omicron variant.
Murphy on Monday asked the state Legislature — controlled by fellow Democrats — for a 90-day extension as the powers were set to expire Jan. 11, the final day of the current legislative session. He said the move is necessary because of the new spikes in numbers.
But, citing the lack of support among legislators from both parties, the state Senate and Assembly on Thursday began advancing a resolution that agrees only to grant a 45-day extension on orders, waivers, and directives that loosen guidelines for hospitals so they can more easily deal with a deluge of patients.
The resolution does not extend key pieces of Murphy’s request — including the authority to install federal health guidelines, such as masks in schools, and overseeing vaccinations and testing.
Outgoing state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, told NJ Advance Media on Friday lawmakers aren’t granting the full extension because the state has to learn to live with the virus 22 months after the pandemic started here, especially with vaccines now readily available.
“Thankfully, people that have been vaccinated aren’t getting as severely sick as others,” said Sweeney, who will leave his post Tuesday after losing re-election in November.
“It’s not going to go away,” he added about the virus. “The people who are vaccinated are vaccinated. And those who aren’t won’t. At this point, we’ve got to learn how to move forward with this.”
Asked specifically why lawmakers don’t support extending the school mask mandate, Sweeney said: ”If we’re allowing schools to decide whether they’re open or not, they should also be deciding how they’re run.”
Sweeney said the hospital measures are needed because the pandemic’s new resurgence “imposed critical demands on our health care system that need to be addressed.”
Murphy’s office declined to comment on the matter or say how the governor will react.
Sweeney has often clashed with Murphy the last four years. But the Senate president insisted this move is not a final personal jab as he prepares to exit the Legislature.
“No. I swear to God it’s not,” Sweeney said, noting that the Assembly is also against Murphy’s full request and actually dropped the hospital orders to 45 days, when the Senate was willing to go to 90.
“This is not a Steve Sweeney mad at Phil Murphy, kicking him in the knees as I walk out the door,” he said.
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The New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union — and frequently a Sweeney foe — said it was “appalled at the idea that any member of the New Jersey Legislature would fail to support.”
“At a time when cases are surging and schools across New Jersey are struggling to remain open for in-person instruction, it is beyond irresponsible to let that vital safety measure lapse when it is supported by health, science, and common sense,” a group of NJEA officers — President Sean M. Spiller, Vice President Steve Beatty, and Secretary-Treasurer Petal Robertson — said in a statement.
After more than a year of unilaterally installing orders to fight the pandemic, Murphy cut a deal with Democratic legislative leaders last June to end New Jersey’s public-health emergency in an effort to give lawmakers more of a say. In exchange, the agreement allowed Murphy to keep a number of powers to continue managing the pandemic until Jan. 11 — over the objection of Republicans who said the governor’s control had already lasted too long.
Murphy has removed the majority of COVID-19 restrictions, but masking has remained in schools, daycare facilities, health-care settings, state government buildings, and on mass transit across New Jersey.
Under the remaining powers, the governor can implement only current federal mask and social distancing guidelines, though he’s allowed to go beyond that if there’s a significant surge in coronavirus numbers.
Murphy himself told NJ Advance Media this week it’s “highly unlikely” he’ll implement any new restrictions — including statewide lockdowns, mask mandates, or vaccine passports — to fight the latest surge. Instead, he said, the focus will be on increasing vaccine booster shots, helping hospitals with staffing, and expanding testing.
“We’re gonna get through this,” the governor said in an interview. “The omicron variant appears to be something that goes up literally like a straight line and when it breaks, it goes down pretty precipitously. And ultimately, it’s going to get to a place where (the virus is) going to be among us, but we will be able to live what we would all think of as completely normal lives. And I do believe that is within our reach sooner rather than later.”
Still, Murphy said Monday “it would be the height of irresponsibility to lift these basic public health requirements” amid the new surge.
“I will not let that happen,” he said.
Murphy said keeping the much-debated school mask mandate is needed to “protect their health and safety and ensure that they can continue in-person learning.”
Numerous Republicans immediately said they opposed extending the powers. But two legislative sources said there was also opposition from Democrats. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the issue.
Though Democrats retained control of the Legislature in November’s race, Republicans gained seven seats in an election many experts said was colored by anger over COVID-19 restrictions.
Sweeney acknowledged that Murphy could declare another emergency and re-up the powers himself. But, the Senate president said, the Legislature could vote to “override him.”
“You could have a Senate concurrent resolution saying we don’t agree,” Sweeney said. “I’m not saying they would do that.”
“The Legislature is gonna play a role in this, he added. “We had given the governor as much leeway as we can.”
New Jersey on Friday reported another 63 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and a new single-day record of 33,459 confirmed positive cases, while hospitalizations continued to edge higher after 10 straight days with at least 20,000 cases.
The state’s seven-day average for new confirmed positive tests is now 27,487, up 52% from a week ago and 722% from a month ago as the globe continues to face a new surge driven in large part by the omicron variant of the virus.
There were 5,621 patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases across New Jersey’s 71 hospitals of Thursday night. That’s the most since April 30, 2020, when the initial wave of the pandemic was starting to ease.
Patient numbers haven’t climbed to the heights they did in the very early days of the pandemic, when there were more than 8,000 people hospitalized in April 2020. But hospitalizations have increased by more than 3,500 patients over the last two weeks. At least 116 new patients were admitted to hospitals on Thursday alone, though 834 patients previously being treated were discharged.
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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @johnsb01.