TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy last week traveled outside of his state-mandated exclusion zone that would require normal citizens to quarantine in their homes for 14-days. That exclusion zone includes daily travel to New York and Pennsylvania, but when Murphy passed through, Delaware and Maryland to reach his final destination, he was back within the bounds of a mandatory quarantine he imposed on the people of New Jersey.
Except, he’s not the people of New Jersey. He’s a Democrat governor of New Jersey and if you haven’t been following the news cycle this pandemic, those rules are for us, not them.
“Governor Murphy’s short trip to Washington, D.C., is classified as essential travel and not subject to the travel advisory, as it is pursuant to his official duties as governor,” a spokeswoman for Murphy, NJ101.5 reported today. “The travel advisory also does not apply to individuals traveling to and from the state for work and those whose trip is 24 hours or less.”
According to the New Jersey Department of Health, “Those who are returning to New Jersey after traveling outside of the state for less than 24 hours or those traveling to New Jersey for less than 24 hours – Even where travel is less than 24 hours, however, individuals are still discouraged from engaging in non-essential travel to other states to the extent possible.”
So, Murphy is out on a technicality on this one as he traveled to D.C. to attend the inauguration of President Joe Biden, because COVID-19 knows he’s an important guy, so there’s nothing to worry about.