On Tuesday, New Jersey officials reported 2,196 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the state total to 18,696.
The virus also caused an additional 69 deaths, increasing the overall death toll to 267 residents.
New Jerseyans still can’t pump their own gas — at least not yet
Gov. Phil Murphy said he has “no plans” to suspend New Jersey’s prohibition on self-service gas even as the trade group representing gas stations says the change would make workers and drivers safer.
Oregon, the only other state to restrict self-service gas, relaxed its rules over the weekend due to concerns that illness among pump attendants could cause stations to close and make it difficult for critical workers to get to their jobs.
In addition, the New Jersey Gasoline, Convenience, Automotive Association said it’s impossible for attendants to maintain the recommended six-foot distance from customers as they pass potentially contaminated bank cards and cash back and forth.
“The virus will presumably continue to live on the attendants’ gloves and perhaps attach itself to the card of every subsequent motorist who comes in afterward,” the group said in a statement.
Instead, drivers should fill their own tanks while taking their own hygienic precautions, the group said.
Self-serve gas is the third rail of New Jersey politics. Former Gov. Tom Kean purportedly said he got “crucified” when he once suggested it. More recently, former Gov. Jon Corzine floated the idea in his first year, but promptly abandoned it.
Camden County to open testing site; options expand statewide
Camden County will open a new drive-thru coronavirus testing site in the city of Camden on Wednesday as more South Jersey counties prepare for a surge in coronavirus cases akin to what has happened in their northern neighbors.
The site in Cooper’s Poynt Waterfront Park will be open by appointment only to symptomatic Camden County residents with a referral from a health care provider from Monday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m., until April 15. There are also public coronavirus testing sites in Burlington and Ocean counties, which have similarly seen their positive cases and deaths creep up in recent days.
The majority of New Jersey’s coronavirus cases remain concentrated in northern counties outside New York City — Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union.
The state is operating two drive-thru testing sites in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, at Bergen County Community College and the PNC Bank Arts Center in Monmouth County. Other testing sites are open for residents in Union, Hudson, Morris, Middlesex and Passaic counties, as well as Jersey City.
The state is keeping a running list of New Jersey coronavirus testing sites, which includes details on each one’s operating procedures and symptom requirements.
Criticism mounting over toll hike proposals
U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew is the latest elected official to rip the South Jersey Transportation Authority for considering a 37% toll hike on the Atlantic City Expressway during the coronavirus pandemic.
It comes as the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which oversees the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, is plowing ahead with a similar proposal to raise tolls on those roadways.
“South Jersey is hurting,” said Van Drew in a statement. For decades he was a Democrat but switched to become a Republican after voting against impeachment. “The last thing we need right now are more proposals and hearings on how politicians from Trenton can best punish our citizens even more.”
It currently costs $3.75 to drive the length of the AC expressway. Under the proposal, the average toll would initially increase 57 cents and then be indexed to inflation, rising up to 3% annually. The money would help fund capital projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Tolls were last raised in 2008.
Until a few days ago, the South Jersey Transportation Authority was planning to hold in-person hearings on the proposed toll hike despite Gov. Phil Murphy’s statewide ban on gatherings of any size.
On Monday afternoon, the authority changed the notice on its website to say the public hearings set for Wednesday and Thursday will be held remotely.