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Murphy tests positive for COVID-19, will isolate for 5 days

By The Associated Press - | Apr 1, 2022

FILE -New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy speaks to reporters during a briefing in Trenton, N.J., Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has tested positive for COVID-19 and will isolate for the next five days. A spokesperson for the Democrat emailed that Murphy took a rapid antigen test Thursday, March 31, 2022 followed by a PCR test, and both came back positive. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy tested positive for COVID-19 and will isolate for the next five days, his office said Thursday.

Murphy took a rapid antigen test Thursday afternoon and then a PCR test, both of which came back positive, spokesperson Mahen Gunaratna said. Murphy is feeling well and doesn’t have symptoms, he added.

Murphy is at least the 15th U.S. governor to test positive for COVID-19, according to an Associated Press tally.

The governor will cancel all events for the next five days, his office said. That’s in line with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

“The contact tracing process has begun to notify everyone who may have come into contact with the Governor during the potential infection window,” Gunaratna said in an email, adding that Murphy will “continue to monitor for symptoms before taking an additional PCR test.”

In recent days, Murphy has been posting photos to social media showing him rooting on the St. Peter’s men’s basketball team at the NCAA tournament, including alongside fellow Democrats Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Senate President Nicholas Scutari.

First lady Tammy Murphy tested positive on Jan. 2. At the time, the governor’s office said the rest of the family tested negative.

Murphy, 64, underwent surgery to have a cancerous tumor removed from his kidney in March 2020, just as the first cases of COVID-19 surfaced in the state. His office has said the surgery was a success.

New Jersey’s coronavirus case counts, like those around the country, have fallen dramatically since late last year and especially January when positives spiked to a record high. New Jersey has among the highest percentage of its population vaccinated in the country, and Murphy has been a major booster of inoculation and COVID-19 precautions.

The state’s COVID-19 protocols, like masking in state buildings and schools, have been mostly withdrawn, with the exception that residents must wear masks on public transit.