New Jersey 'closely watching' global COVID rise, no plans to reimpose mandates

New COVID-19 variant stokes fears of new surge in U.S.

A new COVID-19 subvariant, labeled B.A.2, has spread overseas and caused leaders to reimpose lockdowns. Nearly a dozen European countries have reported spikes days after lifting COVID rules. Stateside, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday said his administration is monitoring the variant, but they do not have plans on reinstating mandates.

TRENTON - New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said his office is "closely watching" a global rise in COVID-19 infections that they anticipate will eventually cause an uptick in New Jersey's numbers.

"Given both previous trends with regard to spread and our location as an international nexus for travel and trade, we do anticipate that we will eventually see an increase in the number of cases in New Jersey," Murphy said in a statement Thursday.

Murphy's office will particularly focus on how the virus impacts the state's healthcare systems. He said the state currently has no plans to reimpose statewide mandates.

The warning comes as a new COVID-19 subvariant, labeled B.A.2, has spread overseas and caused leaders to reimpose lockdowns. Nearly a dozen European countries have reported spikes days after lifting COVID rules.

"We are not going to manage COVID to zero nor are we impervious to the virus," Murphy said. "Moving to an endemic status still means we must all take personal responsibility to protect ourselves and our loved ones."

New Jersey reported over close to 1,000 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and 14 lab-confirmed deaths, according to the state's COVID-19 dashboard.