Mandating masks? Nervous Gov. Phil Murphy mulls his options amid COVID-19 uptick | Stile

Gov. Phil Murphy was clear, and unequivocal on the need for a national mask-wearing standard on NBC's "Meet The Press" on Sunday.

"It's become almost not even debatable,'' he told moderator Andrea Mitchell. "Certainly when you're going out and absolutely indoors. As I’ve mentioned, this virus is a lot more lethal inside than outside, but if you're leaving your house, put on a mask. I think it ought to be a national, a national requirement."

Yet, for all his ardent advocacy, New Jersey is a latecomer to universal, outdoor masking. Other states, including Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, California, North Carolina and others are already mandating masks in public settings where adequate social distancing cannot be maintained.

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Pressed by reporters Monday, Murphy said his administration is mulling its own plans for universal mask-wearing.

"We’re looking at outside masking as we speak,'' he said at his daily briefing in Trenton. "The virus is a lot less lethal outdoors than indoors, but that doesn't mean it is not lethal." 

The issue of expanding New Jersey's mask mandate to outdoor settings has vexed Murphy from the moment he cautiously began reopening the state amid signs that the pathogen's spread was abating.

In early May, he reopened the parks, but was dismayed to see large numbers of mask-less people strolling in Monmouth County. His instinct, he said, was to mandate it, but he felt it would have been untenable to enforce.

"We were not mandating it. We were recommending it,'' he said May 6. "I'm of the category that I think we should be stronger on that."

Now, Murphy the Public Health Hardliner has shed that hesitancy as he watches the rest of the nation brace for the carnage that the Northeast endured from March to late May.

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COVID-19 cases are spiking dramatically in 38 states that began opening their beaches and bars for a summer of coronavirus denial. Others, like Texas, shaped patchwork policies steeped in the traditions of personal freedom and self-reliance. Now, Houston may soon run out of ventilators.

Murphy worries that some of that national spread will push a mutated version of the virus — which apparently transmits far more rapidly — back to Jersey in an earlier-than-expected second wave. That fear appears to be justified.

He reported Monday a concerning uptick in the rate at which COVID-19 spreads from one person to another in New Jersey. The rate of transmission has been at 1.03 for the past two days, Murphy said. That means every new COVID-19 case leads to at least one additional case. 

A value above 1 means more cases are likely, while a value below 1 means the number of infections is likely to fall.

"This means increasing rate of spread statewide," Murphy said. "This is an early warning sign that, quite frankly, we need to do more."

In recent weeks, Murphy postponed the restart of indoor dining, a move that has infuriated restaurant owners, who had started stocking up on food supplies for the anticipated summer reboot. He indicated Monday that restaurateurs are in for a long, indefinite wait.

And now he is reconsidering a universal outdoor mask policy, which would expand on his April order mandating masks inside supermarkets, restaurants and other businesses exempted from his lockdown order. Murphy says New Jersey was the first state in the nation to take that step.

Yet his call for a national requirement also comes at a time when the nation's commander-in-chief is on a national tour of denial, refusing to wear a mask at events at Mount Rushmore and in Washington, D.C, and making false and absurd claims that 99% of virus cases are "totally harmless."

Murphy, who has been loath to criticize President Donald Trump throughout the pandemic, said nothing about the president's behavior or comments. But New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ditched the diplomatic posture and accused Trump of aiding and abetting the virus's spread.

“He won’t wear a mask. Vice President Pence says, 'Wear a mask.' All the health officials say, 'Wear the mask.' He won’t wear a mask because he doesn’t want to admit that there’s a COVID virus. Why? I have no idea,” Cuomo said. 

"He's enabling the virus," he added. 

Asked by Mitchell about Trump's remarks, Murphy demurred, choosing instead to focus on the bigger concerns of Trumpian inaction.

"We're starting to see small spikes in reinfection from folks coming back from places like Myrtle Beach, as well as in Florida, other hot spots,'' he said. "To me, it says we need a national strategy. We're only as strong as our weakest link right now.''

And the weakest link is the Enabler in Chief, refusing to wear a mask.

Charlie Stile is a veteran New Jersey columnist. For unlimited access to his unique insights into New Jersey’s political power structure and his powerful watchdog work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: stile@northjersey.com Twitter: @politicalstile