Gatherings in New York City will be forced out starting Monday, and Pennsylvania has closed indoor dining for three weeks from Saturday.
Despite rising cases of Covid-1 rising and action by neighboring states, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has kept indoor dining open, acknowledging that he could take action if the situation worsens.
So why rest restaurants rent in New Jersey still serve indoors and why Murphy has broken up with governments. Andrew Cuomo and Tom Wolf?
Political observers say Murphy is caught between political cliffs and a tough place, trying to balance public health with economic health, the governor is facing imminent political considerations by not being his neighbor allies.
Unlike Wolf and Cuomo, Murphy has been battling coronavirus in his election for less than 11 months.
“It’s a very hard needle to draw,” said Ben Dwakin, a political scientist and director of the Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship at Rowan University. “If Pennsylvania and New York are doing something different, there will be pressure to follow New Jersey.”
On Friday, Murphy said he is currently comfortable with indoor dining with a capacity of 25% and an order bound at 10pm, but he added that he would turn to the course if state hospitals approached capacity.
“The third rail that we can’t cross or touch is our health care system and its capabilities,” Murphy said during his coronavirus briefing on Friday. “Ensuring that our healthcare system is not overstretched – and if we get closer to it – we will take significant steps. We are not close to it right now. We are not over-running our health care systems. “
Murphy has repeatedly said over the past nine months that he will put people’s health above the health of state businesses, but stopping indoor dining in the winter is a completely different suggestion than spring and summer.
“Banning indoor dining in the winter means more restaurants will fail,” said Matthew Hale, a political scientist at Seton Handal University. “It’s simple, so I’m not surprised that governors are tired of doing something that directly kills small businesses.”
Restaurant owners are sending the same message to the governor, with plenty of criticism for its coronavirus-related restrictions in the spring and summer.
“Look, I think Murphy shot himself in the leg,” said Ehren Ryan, owner of the Common Lot restaurant in Milburn. “At the beginning of this thing, I think he kept the restaurant closed for a very long time. I think there’s a point where you just can’t shut down these restaurateurs, because some of them, like us, have been closed for five months. “
However, a longer ban on indoor dining could mean the end of some NJ restaurants, Hale said, adding that he believes Murphy will take that step “if the public health science needs it.”
“Every decision the governor makes about COVID-19 is a mixture of politics, economics and science,” Haley said. “I don’t think the restaurant’s decision is any different. The problem with Government Murphy and every other decision maker is that good politics can be bad economics and it is clearly politically and economically always in conflict with science. “
But, politically speaking, there are some things worse for Murphy that prevent people from dining indoors, Dukwartin said.
“It’s bad politics when people die,” he said. “It’s not about that, ‘Oh no, he’ll be tagged in the election.’ The November issue of 2021 is about the overall management (epidemic), not just a decision. ”
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