A spokesman for the governor said Wednesday evening that Governor Phil Murphy was at a bar in Hoboken on Saturday night when he came in contact with a senior employee who later tested positive for coronavirus, a governor’s spokesman said Wednesday evening.
Dan Bryan, Murphy’s senior adviser, said the governor and first lady were with Murphy’s communications director and his wife at a social event in Pilsner Hus and Beergarten.
Murphy and his wife were there for a little over an hour, he said. Deputy Chief of Staff Mike Delamator, who learned he had tested positive for the virus on Wednesday, said for about 15 minutes that he had “joined the rally.”
Brian said, “The little gathering was out. “(Delemeter) was not close to the governor or the first lady for a continuous period.”
Both the governor and First Lady Tammy Murphy tested negative for the virus Wednesday afternoon, Murphy’s office fee said.
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They Moments after the dermatologist tested positive, Murphy was tested after he abruptly stepped off the stage of a public event about two hours ago.
“I was informed by my colleagues that I was close to someone on Saturday who tested positive,” Murphy said after attending the event at Camden Community College for about 30 minutes. “Now unfortunately I have to get myself on the field.”
Brian also announced that he tested positive on Wednesday afternoon.
Officials say contact tracing has begun, but on Wednesday night it was not clear how many people from the governor’s inner circle came in contact with senior staff who tested positive.
Brian added about Murphy’s visit to Pilsener Hus and Beergarten, “Nowhere has the executive order been violated.”
Murphy’s order at rest restaurants, renters and bars requires people to wear masks at all times except when eating or drinking.
Aside from social gatherings last weekend, Murphy spent most of the week going to his office on West State Street, with 10 to 12 employees in one day.
The masks are confidently worn inside the Ks Fiso, and the desk in the general area is separated from the Plexiglas, he said.
The governor said he plans to quarantine at least by the end of the week. He has scheduled a remote appearance, including his coronavirus briefing on Thursday
The last time the Covid-19 entered Murphy’s orbit was when his former chief adviser was positively tested in early April. It was a month after New Jersey reported its first case on March 4 – the same day Murphy underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from one of his kidneys.
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Matt Arco Can be reached at [email protected].
