One week after saying he didn't feel the state of New Jersey was able to move forward with the Center for Disease Control's controversial decision to go "maskless" amid the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy did a complete 180 on Monday, lifting mandates for indoor and outdoor mask use, and lifting social distancing requirements.
Instead the governor is now putting the onus on businesses and the state's citizens to make reasonable decisions on their own. Murphy said there would be no mechanism to determine a person's vaccination status, and that the mask requirement would be lifted for all people regardless of vaccination status, (a huge gamble. One that could end up blowing up in the Governor's face).
Murphy's decision comes amid outside pressure to join the growing crowd of states who are ditching COVID restrictions, even though less than 40 percent of the nation has been fully vaccinated. New Jersey, by itself has only vaccinated 47 percent of residents according to Our World in data.
However, the governor did cite that rate of transmission and hospitalizations are down across the state, a good sign, a major impetus to get this done. He would like to get to 70 percent vaccinated by the end of June -- a lofty goal that might be harder to attain.
Moreover, with Murphy's slipping poll numbers in an election year for the gubernatorial race in New Jersey, one would have to figure that also factors in in this call.
Why is this important on a sports blog site? Well, due to Murphy's decision, the New York Jets, Giants, New Jersey Devils and New York/New Jersey Red Bulls could now host events at 100 percent capacity.
The Jets and Giants put out releases celebrating the news.
"MetLife Stadium, the New York Jets and New York Giants are very excited with Governor Murphy's announcement today that will allow events to return to full capacity as of May 28. We extend our gratitude and appreciation toward Governor Murphy and his staff for their leadership and guidance throughout the pandemic. We are currently reviewing stadium policies and protocols as our commitment to health and safety of our guests and staff remain our top priority."
Upon receiving the news, Jets fans jumped on Twitter in full celebration, some saying they plan on attending without getting vaccinated.
And hence begins the big problem that Murphy has created. Less than half of the states population has been vaccinated. Many people, in fact a growing number of people have refused to be vaccinated from start, many more have acted like the COVID-19 pandemic is a fabrication and have not followed CDC guidelines for the last year.
By reopening the state 100% just like this it is creating an aurora of distrust among citizens that will be hard to shake.
Moreover there is no telling how long COVID vaccine effectiveness lasts. According to FORBES, it's anyone's guess; it could be between six months to 2 years. Nobody really knows. So let's say the effectiveness is six months. That means the majority of fans who were vaccinated the past couple of months would need a booster come September or October, otherwise they would fall victim to a virus potentially carried by those who are not vaccinated.
See how distrust can sneak in here?
This is a huge problem!
Murphy himself said that lifting the COVID mask policy is not a "license to be a knucklehead." Unfortunately, he has too much faith in people's bad judgement. From maskers to never-maskers and all in between, the fear factor from COVID is only going to amp up, especially if numbers go back up as a result.
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