NJ governor tests negative for COVID-19 after coming in contact with infected person

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) tested negative for the coronavirus after he announced this week he had come into contact with someone who’d tested positive for the illness.

“.@FirstLadyNJ and I just got #COVID19 tests and thankfully tested negative,” he tweeted. “This pandemic is not over, and we all need to stay vigilant. Wear a mask. Social distance. Wash your hands.”

.@FirstLadyNJ and I just got #COVID19 tests and thankfully tested negative.

This pandemic is not over, and we all need to stay vigilant. Wear a mask. Social distance. Wash your hands.

Find a testing location near you: https://t.co/JZg9mGpUuV

— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) October 24, 2020

Concerns over Murphy’s health were thrust into the spotlight this week after he left an event early Wednesday after finding out that a member of his senior staff had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Both Murphy and his wife had canceled their subsequent in-person events and went into quarantine. 

“From the beginning, the Governor’s Office has taken every precaution to limit the spread of COVID-19. Today’s exceedingly cautious steps are part of that ongoing commitment,” spokesperson Mahen Gunaratna said in a statement at the time. 

New Jersey was one of the hardest-hit states early in the pandemic and spent the summer months taking stringent efforts to reduce cases in the Garden State.

But officials reported nearly 2,000 new coronavirus cases Friday, a figure Murphy said the state hadn’t seen since the worst days of the outbreak in May. Nearly 15,000 people overall have died in the state. 

“We’re still in the midst of a pandemic and need everyone to take this seriously,” he pleaded with residents. “Wear a mask. Social distance.”

URGENT UPDATE: We’re reporting 1,994 new positive cases of #COVID19, pushing our cumulative total to 227,339.

We haven’t seen daily case numbers this high since May. We’re still in the midst of a pandemic and need everyone to take this seriously.

Wear a mask. Social distance. pic.twitter.com/KkKstQLwtF

— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) October 24, 2020