TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – Gov. Phil Murphy has given New Jersey State Police orders to take N95 masks, ventilators and other personal protective equipment that health care facilities need in their race to slow the spread of coronavirus.
“While we look forward to these facilities cooperating with us and providing this equipment as needed, this order gives (police) the express authority to requisition it for distribution to our acute care hospitals and other healthcare facilities,” said Murphy in his daily COVID-19 briefing. “And needless to say, they badly need the equipment.”
The order came as New Jersey saw deaths related to COVID-19 illness jumped 182 in 24-hours to a total of 537. By Thursday, New Jersey had a total of 25,590 confirmed coronavirus cases across the state, reports CBS2’s Cory James.
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Newark University Hospital EKG technician Kim King-Smith is among those now gone. Her family says her smile was “more infectious than the virus that took her life.”
“I constantly balance my response of being cold-blooded with compassion,” Murphy said.
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Murphy had previously ordered for businesses and individuals to donate unused personal protection equipment by March 27 for future use by hospital workers facing shortages. Executive Order 109 covered any business, non-hospital health care facility or institution of higher learning in possession of “PPE, ventilators, respirators, or anesthesia machines not required for the provision of critical health care services shall undertake an inventory of these supplies.”
The governor says even police are facing unnecessary obstacles as people claiming to have COVID-19 have allegedly been assaulting officers.
“We are taking a zero-tolerance policy against anyone spitting or coughing on officers,” said Murphy. “They will face aggravated assault charges.”
In terms of counties across New Jersey, Bergen County remains the highest hotspot in both infections and death:
- Bergen County: 4,099 positive cases (120 deaths)
- Essex County: 2,617 positive cases (99 deaths)
- Hudson County: 2,270 positive cases (44 deaths)
- Union County: 2,010 positive cases (34 deaths)
- Middlesex County: 1,766 positive cases (48 deaths)
- Passaic County: 1,750 positive cases (22 deaths)
- Monmouth County: 1,458 positive cases (38 deaths)
- Ocean County: 1,371 positive cases (38 deaths)
- Morris County: 1,082 positive cases (40 deaths)
- Somerset County: 549 positive cases (17 deaths)
- Mercer County: 386 positive cases (4 deaths)
- Camden County: 343 positive cases (6 deaths)
- Burlington County: 294 positive cases (8 deaths)
- Sussex County: 179 positive cases (7 deaths)
- Gloucester County: 169 positive cases (2 deaths)
- Hunterdon County: 130 positive cases (0 deaths)
- Warren County: 116 positive cases (3 deaths)
- Atlantic County: 50 positive cases (1 deaths)
- Cape May County: 34 positive cases (0 deaths)
- Cumberland County: 31 positive cases (1 deaths)
- Salem County: 20 positive cases (1 deaths)
ICUs have been overwhelmed by incoming coronavirus patients, especially in New York City since shortly after the outbreak began.
“We also all certainly hope that (New Jersey State Police Colonel Patrick J. Callahan) doesn’t have to use this authority,” said Murphy. “We would hope that folks would step forward and do the right thing but if need be, we will use this authority.”
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To help alleviate shortages, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey will be donating 500,000 N95 masks and 81,000 face shields throughout April – a $2.3 million contribution to help the growing fight.
Murphy also issued an executive order allowing blood drives to continue taking collections.
This could be the tipping point, when citizens decide not to follow laws. The facade of civilization is linch pinned by a gentlemans agreement to allow authority to intrude.
That can easily be rescinded. nothing would surprise me.
But the police are “Just following orders”, now where have I heard that before?
I see the State of New Jersey is moving one step further to a police state.
It is endlessly fascinating that the wealthy and connected never tire of telling the working and producing how to act and what they should do. Obama was praised during a set of similar situations. He bungled and fumbled for his puppet masters, undermined this republic and it’s freedoms, yet the brainwashed and media still revere this fool.
SO those of us who Prepared for this crisis now face Government confiscation of medical supplies…Hmm so when the order comes down for Food, Firearms etc will the Public allow this.. There will be BLOOD.
Executive orders only apply to the functioning of the government and actions of government employees. They are not laws by fiat. Close a public park? Fine. Tell me I can’t be in my own yard? Not legal. Applying an executive order to a citizen and their personal property is illegal. Governors are not gods and they still work for us – not the other way around.
Isn’t taking someone else’s property, because you feel that you need it more than they do, simply theft? If I have five masks but only two people at home, are the cops going to raid my home to take three? What next, one family has 90% of their income or savings ‘requisitioned’ by the government, in order to redistribute it to the unemployed? What about homes (who needs a four bedroom home, if only two people live in it), cars (only one per family required), or non-perishable food (only a weeks worth needed to feed the unprepared)? Beware the police state. Beware the slip towards communism. Our Constitution is to protect ‘the people’, not give government unlimited control. The president has not yet declared martial law, although I suspect, that may be coming with the release of criminals, police out sick, and businesses unprotected.
While we are all in lock down, it’s a good time to re-read our Constitution. In particular read the “Takings” clause which says the government must fairly compensate you if they do confiscate your property. Sounds like your governor just wants it for free. Our founding father’s insight are quite amazing!
you gave up your rights long ago, nanny state keeps getting stronger.
None of anyone’s business to know or to give permission to me of how much of anything I own. living in a free country allows for owning property and also having the freedom to give charity and donate what I choose, not the government. It is our choices, the government does not have authority to steal and say it is ok cause our communist Governor said it was ok. It is haing the freedom to trust in freedom and not to force people to do anything.
AGAIN – come to my house to steal and you have made your last communist mistake.
Calm down everyone. There are hoarders buying cases. If you have a family of 4 and 100 N95 masks, you are an asshat.
It isnt legal at all, come to my house to steal and I am forced to protect myself and my house by force. Communists take over our country, and say it is for our safety, we are forced to protect our country at all costs.
And just who are the police going to legally steal this equipment from? The manufactures and distributors do need to be paid for this equipment, they have employees they are responsible to pay, building, equipment, maintenance obligations you know. Now if I were a distributor, or a manufacturer and seen a state using it’s police force as a legalized Mafia crew, I would keep my wares out of that state.
Wasn’t it De Blasio who was saying go out and see a show or play, go on the Subway one month ago?
Come and try this to me. I beg you cops.. Guess this guy wants to start a civil war to boot.
The governor has no right to make an executive order like this. This is theft. Both the order and the theft are illegal. Why even write an illegitimate executive order? Just go in and steal it. I sincerely hope there is more to Americans than talk and we can rise up and stop this “Plan”demic.
Why are most of the hardest hits states are ran by democrats
Headline should read NJ Governor Authorizes Theft of Private Property. And he calls the theft a “Donation”. All you need is an executive order now and you can steal someones property and give it to someone else.
Leave it to Jersey to authorize felonies from a treasonous governor. I presume he is going to reimburse all those who have had their property stolen by the government.
Babylon is falling
So how long before the New Jersey Brown Shirts begin stopping trucks bound for New York, inspecting the manifests, and then hijacking them if they contain any of the materials on their “requisition” lists?
Do you all understand now? This is a PLANdemic, and COVID-19(84), while based on a real virus, is being used as a means to erect a fully-operational Police State. TAKE them? How about offer to buy them, for fair prices?
PLANdemic…perfect term J.C.
He can do this once. Who in their right mind would build more ventilators in the future for example, if the expectation is that they are going to be “requisitioned” by the state?
Requisition from whom? The only people with medical supplies are the medical institutions that bought them and quite properly have them on hand to use them in their professional capacity. Medical decisions are not made by some district attorney with an ideology and a ‘tude.
Private homes, of course. He’ll likely “order” amazon and other retailers to turn over order records for the last two years, and send the Gestapo to collect the items they want.
Hmmmmm…this could get very interesting as the rules of engagement change…I hope the authorities don’t forget that we are still in America, and Americans don’t take kindly to authoritarians taking things from them by force.
I wonder if some patriotic citizens will be even more generous, and give out free lead donations, as well?
It won’t be long now until critics of the Kim Jong Murphy administration will be mysteriously disappearing in the middle of the night. It’s already too late for that person worrying about making the Police the enemy of the people in New Jersey. You’ve been under Martial Law for many years and are the frog boiling in the pot now.
Idiot! Make police enemy of those they serve.
Foolish politician fails to plan, and then tries to use confiscation at gunpoint to get himself out of the political mess he got himself into. What an idiot! Vote him out of office!
Evolution, progressive/socialist/communist/dictator.
So who are the police going to take the supplies from and what if there are other police there to stop them, who will shoot first?
If an idiot claims to have Covid19 and starts spitting and coughing on the police, just shoot them, leave them where they lay as a odoriferous reminder.
Have you noticed all the states that first went into lock down were all demonrat controlled? Also they were the ones to first implement Red Flag Laws to confiscate firearms. This has NOTHING to do with SAVING lives, it has EVERYTHING to do with CONTROLLING lives.
I’m guessing he won’t take the PPE from abortion clinics…AND NO Abortion clinics are NOT medical facilities..
Kim Jong Un Murphy is doing exactly what he promised when he got elected, act like a communist dictator. The subjects in New Jersey won’t even notice.
The beginning of the demolition of the Bill of Rights that libtards have so long wanted.
He needs to go to professional painters and their suppliers. They use N95 masks.
Does that mean the state police can go into Costco and take all the gloves?
I may have already seen a plain clothes police office in one town approach an employee at a store I won’t name and speak with the employee for a quick moment. The employee may have said I don’t know and something about going back there to see. The plainclothes officer went right in the back to the supply side of the store. Not naming names, stores, towns. My guess is that’s how it works.
No way in hell is this legal
Legal went out the window with his lockdown order…the same way it went away with the lockdown orders from any state governor.
Murphy is a fascist, like most liberals. He has zero Constitutional authority to order the theft of private property.