Murphy’s Potential Virus Exposure Came Outdoors at Hoboken Bar

(Bloomberg) -- New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and his wife risked exposure to the novel coronavirus on Saturday outdoors at a Hoboken bar, where at times they were unmasked, he said in a radio interview.

The governor, 63, a first-term Democrat, and his wife, Tammy Murphy, have tested negative. Two senior staffers, including one who was at the social gathering at the Pilsener Haus & Biergarten, have the virus.

Murphy signed an executive order requiring masks in public indoor spaces in April, five weeks after New Jersey reported its first case. He has credited face coverings and other precautions for slowing the virus’ spread and often posts social-media pictures of himself and his wife with masks in place after jogging outdoors.

Though the masking rule applies to New Jersey restaurants and bars, which are operating under capacity and other restrictions, Murphy acknowledged the futility of keeping coverings in place at all times in such places.

“We ourselves took them off,” the governor told 1010 WINS AM radio. “Obviously, you can’t eat or drink through a mask.”

The governor said he tested negative twice this week, and will test again Saturday and Monday while continuing to work from home. “I feel like a million bucks,” he said.

Heading Inside

New Jersey, like much of the rest of the U.S., is seeing cases increase as cooler weather sets in, driving people indoors to greater exposure risks. The state on Wednesday reported 852 hospital patients, the most in three months, while New York doubled its count from early September. Hospitalizations nationwide are at a two-month high and four studies have projected a probable inpatient increase of as much as 6,200 daily for the next four weeks.

Murphy was among about a half-dozen friends and colleagues who had gathered for “a social engagement” on Saturday, he said. One, Michael DeLamater, deputy chief of staff for intergovernmental affairs, tested positive. Murphy, who learned of the test result amid a news conference in southern New Jersey on Wednesday, told the crowd about the matter and immediately left to quarantine at home.

“I was not really right up against this person,” Murphy said on the radio of his contact with DeLamater. “It was at most 15 minutes, and we were outdoors.”

Senior adviser Dan Bryan also has tested positive. He wasn’t at the Saturday event and remains asymptomatic, he said via telephone. DeLamater had mild symptoms on Wednesday, according to the governor’s office.

Murphy had surgery to remove a cancerous kidney tumor on March 5, the day New Jersey reported its first coronavirus case. The governor during the radio interview said he had an all-clear six-month check-up, but remains mindful of vulnerability to illness. Two of his four children are home with his wife, he said. They dine outdoors as much as possible and mask indoors if they are close, he said.

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