NJ: 3 Out Of 4 Not Cooperating With Coronavirus Contact Tracers

NEW JERSEY — When called by contact tracers working in the state, three out of every four New Jersey residents refuse to cooperate — 5 percent points more than reported last week, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday.

At a Monday news conference, Gov. Phil Murphy noted that the percentage of people who were not cooperating with contact tracers has jumped to a “whopping” 74 percent. Three weeks ago, that statistic rose to 60 percent before rising again to 69 percent last Monday.

“Quite frankly, this is unacceptable, and we need folks to turn that around,” Murphy noted. Read more: NJ: 69 Percent Of Residents Don't Cooperate With Contact Tracers

The governor added that the state has increased its contact tracing efforts to provide 30 tracers per every 100,000 residents in the state, with Bergen, Monmouth and Camden touting additional tracers.

“It is extremely critical for contact tracers to get in touch with the close contacts of those who test positive to help us stop the spread of this virus,” Murphy said. “You may think you’ll just call your contacts yourself, but this is a task that is best left to a trained public health professional — a contact tracer, in fact — who can answer questions about access to testing or social supports that they may need to safely quarantine or isolate.”

Murphy acknowledged that is a bloc of people who are, "for whatever reason, have viewed this as a political, like wearing a mask. They're going to view this as some kind of invasion of privacy."

"I completely disagree with them," he said. "But there's some amount of folks who are not cooperating. I'm fearful that that bloc will be sturdy ... the huge bulk of the balance are folks who continue to believe that we're trying to uncover something," the governor continued.

The announcement comes as New Jersey reports 3,573 new cases, marking a total of 371,579 cases in the state since March. The positivity rate recorded Thursday was 11.4 percent, and the statewide rate of transmission was 1.05 based on a seven-day rolling average. Hospitalizations have also reached their highest point since May. Read more: NJ: Outdoor Gatherings Drop To 25 As COVID Metrics 'Way Too High'

This weekend also marked an "all-time high" in reports of new COVID-19 virus cases, with around 5,300 new positive cases on Friday, Saturday and Sunday — believed to be "directly related to the Thanksgiving holiday," according to New Jersey Department of Health Medical Director Dr. Edward Lifshitz. Read more: NJ Tops 6K New Cases For 1st Time, Clarifies Entertainment Rules

On Sunday, 269 hospital COVID-19 patients were discharged, while 417 were admitted. Sunday also saw 55 in-hospital patient deaths and over 6,000 reported new cases.

“Through [contact tracers’] commitments, we are beating our benchmarks,” Murphy added. “We are holding up our end of this battle. We urge you folks to please work with us.”

Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli has said many people who have been infected or exposed to the COVID-19 virus prefer to inform their contacts personally instead of sharing their information with a contact tracer. They're also worried about protecting their friends, she said.

"While that may seem like a nice gesture or a personal touch, it's hindering the overall contact tracing effort," she said last month.

Contact tracers provide expert information on how to protect people infected or exposed to the virus, and they help connect people to vital information and provide them with a safe place to isolate.

"Please help these professionals do their job and better protect New Jersey and give them the information they need on the individuals who may have been exposed to COVID-19," she said.
Murphy also urged people to download the state's contact tracing app: