The US state of New Jersey declared a public health emergency, effective immediately, in the face of the omicron coronavirus variant.
The move, declared by Governor Phil Murphy, aims to ensure that the state is able to respond to the continued threat of the coronavirus and the rapidly spreading omicron variant.
“COVID-19 remains a significant threat to our state and we must commit every resource available to beating back the wave caused by the omicron variant,” Murphy said in a statement.
The emergency allows state agencies and de-partments to utilize state resources to assist the health care system and affected communities re-sponding to and recovering from coronavirus cases.
The governor said the move does not mean that there would be any mandates or vaccine passports, lockdowns, any business restrictions or gathering limits.
“What it does mean is that we can continue moving forward with our coordinated and responsi-ble approach to putting omicron and COVID behind us,” he said.—Reuters
