Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday said he’s moving closer to ordering children day care centers closed in New Jersey amid the coronavirus outbreak, but has held off until a plan could be put in place to make sure emergency and medical workers workers have day care options.
“I am personally migrating toward a decision that, assuming first-responders and health-care workers (can be addressed), that we are gonna find a way to bring this down for the foreseeable future,” Murphy said at Rutgers-Newark during his daily coronavirus press briefing.
Murphy has ordered all public and private schools to close until further notice, as well as non-essential retail businesses, to help stop the spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. But he has allowed day care centers to remain open, specifically to make sure emergency and medical workers are covered as they fight the pandemic.
The state approved additional funding for such centers.
“When you put in place the steps you have put in place, you have to be mindful of the fact that we’re trying not to tilt the machine so much that it falls off the tracks,” Murphy said Tuesday.
But critics fear keeping the centers open exposed children and workers to the virus that has gripped the globe. State Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, called on the governor to find a solution.
Murphy said Tuesday he’s spoken with Vitale and state officials are working on a plan.
The governor said he’s heard that 85% of day care facilities in the state have already voluntarily shuttered — though, he said, he has “no basis on which to validate” that number.
State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said a solution is needed because 40% of nurses across the state are single parents or primary caregivers.
“We need the nurses on the frontlines,” Persichilli said. “Good child care is imperative.”
She said “safe, good, responsible child care close to hospitals” is in the works.
“We haven’t quite gotten there yet,” Persichilli said. “But we will figure this out.”
New Jersey now has at least 3,675 known cases of the coronavirus, including 44 known deaths, state officials announced Tuesday. That’s the second most number of cases in the U.S., after New York.
If you would like updates on New Jersey-specific coronavirus news, subscribe to our Coronavirus in N.J. newsletter.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01.
Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.
"care" - Google News
March 25, 2020 at 06:29AM
https://ift.tt/3akjRmm
Murphy close to deciding whether to close N.J. child day care centers amid coronavirus outbreak - NJ.com
"care" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2N6arSB
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Murphy close to deciding whether to close N.J. child day care centers amid coronavirus outbreak - NJ.com"
Post a Comment