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KEARNY, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 25: Gov. Phil Murphy speaks about President Joe Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and Build Back Better Agenda at the NJ Transit Meadowlands Maintenance Complex on October 25, 2021 in Kearny, New Jersey. On Thursday during a CNN Town Hall, President Joe Biden announced that a deal to pass major infrastructure and social spending measures was close to being done. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also announced on Sunday that she expects Democrats to have an "agreement" on a framework for the social safety net plan and a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill in the next week. The reconciliation package, which was slated at first to cost $3.5 trillion, would still be the biggest support to expanding education, health care and child care support, and also help to fight the climate crisis as well as make further investments in infrastructure. Congress still needs to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill by October 31 before the extension of funding for surface transportation expires.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy urges state residents to be careful amid a possible snowstorm.
According to reports, Murphy declared a state of emergency on five counties, namely, Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland, and Ocean Counties.
"The anticipated winter storm is expected to bring heavy snow, wind gusts, and coastal flooding in parts of Southern New Jersey. Residents should stay off the roads, remain vigilant, and follow all safety protocols," Murphy said via Philadelphia CBS Local.
Murphy also said that those that do not need to be outside should stay indoors so that road crews can do their jobs.
Schools are postponing their opening due to snowstorm, COVID-19
According to NJ, the winter storm is scheduled to start at 4 a.m. on Monday and end at 4 p.m. on the day.
Some schools also announced the cancelation of classes on Monday due to the bad weather. Others are delaying the opening of classes to a few hours later.
Other institutions are also concerned due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in select counties.
According to App.com, an impending snowstorm is expected to drop up to seven inches in southern Ocean County. And on Sunday, the New Jersey Department of Health reported 29,740 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections across the state.
In Jackson, it was announced that all classes this week will take place virtually due to the snowstorm and the number of COVID-19 cases in the county.
Schools in Little Silver will also be held virtually through Jan. 7 due to staffing issues and student infections resulting from the surge in COVID-19. The district plans to reopen on Jan. 10.
In Neptune Township, schools will operate remotely through Jan. 10 due to a large number of COVID-19 cases among the school's officials.
Gov. Phil Murphy refuses to impose mask, vaccine mandates
But despite the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in New Jersey, Murphy has not announced a statewide mandate on makes and vaccines amid the latest wave.
According to North Jersey, Murphy has been saying that all options are on the table regarding what he would do amid the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the country. But the governor has not specified what exactly is his action plan.
It also remains unclear if there will be an indoor mask mandate or new vaccine requirements for the residents of New Jersey.
No hard lockdown for New Jersey
But what doesn't seem plausible is for Murphy to impose another hard lockdown just like what he did in the spring of 2020. The governor said he would leave the decision up to local school officials to decide whether to stay open or close down and hold classes virtually amid Omicron.
Murphy also said that one of the best recourse to battling Omicron is through testing. However, it's unclear if the governor plans to ramp up testing capacities in New Jersey.
Other states started imposing some mandates to address the thousands of omicron cases in the country, but it's unclear if New Jersey would follow suit.
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