Gov. Murphy: NJ Backslides Slightly In Coronavirus Outbreak

NEW JERSEY – Gov. Phil Murphy, speaking during a Thursday news conference, pointed to statistics that showed a slight backslide in New Jersey's management of the coronavirus outbreak. Murphy addressed those who have called for fully reopening New Jersey's economy after announcing 1,261 new cases and 66 more deaths (you can watch it here, below).

The update comes as the number of total coronavirus cases has risen to 157,185, and 11,401 people have died. Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

Murphy said New Jersey had its highest daily hospitalization number in a week: 365. The number also was higher than the number of people leaving the hospital in one day: 287. The admittance number has rarely exceeded the departure number over the past month (story continues below the graph):

Murphy called the slight spike "troubling" and said that the increased activity in New Jersey – including the partial reopening of retail businesses and the beach restart on Memorial Day weekend – may explain it.

Either way, Murphy said the spike "is something, folks, we've got to keep an eye on."

"For everybody who says, 'Open the thing up tomorrow. Let's turn all the lights on. Lets get back to normal,' we had 365 folks go into the hospital," Murphy said. "We've got to to make sure we're watching this like a hawk."

The chorus of calls for reopening New Jersey has grown in recent weeks, and Murphy has reopened parts of the Garden State's economy. On Tuesday, he announced that school districts and colleges can hold live graduations beginning in July.

Indeed, Murphy has been releasing "hard dates" and more specifics on New Jersey's plans to reopen its economy, schools, daycare, summer camps and public transit during the coronavirus crisis. And he was expected to provide more details over the course of June. Read more: Gov. Murphy: 'Hard Dates' For NJ Coronavirus Reopening (UPDATE)

A number of businesses have threatened to reopen on Monday if Murphy didn't take more steps to restart New Jersey's economy. Read more: Ocean City Gym Owner Leads Movement To Open Businesses Monday

Murphy said there has been "overwhelming compliance" in the business community, and he said of those who don't want to comply: "You're playing with fire."

"It has to be done the right way and at the right time," Murphy said, adding that he plans to give some new information on reopenings over the next few days.

Murphy did say that the increase in hospitalization was largely in the north:

On Thursday, Republican state Sen. Michael Testa called on Senate President Steve Sweeney to join forces and take the "necessary steps" to fully open the Garden State economy, saying "South Jersey restaurants are barely making ends meet."

"Last week, the mayor of North Wildwood created a well-organized plan to allow community restaurants to open up and enjoy the beautiful weather,” said Testa. “What did our heavy handed Cape May County prosecutor do? He followed Gov. Murphy’s orders and shut down the plan. Then the governor’s administration had a helicopter monitor the city. Are we currently living in George Orwell’s 1984?”

Watch Murphy here:

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