SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — While the second wave of coronavirus infections spreads across New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy says 74% of residents are refusing to cooperating with the state’s contact tracers.
“Quite frankly, this is unacceptable,” he said. “The number, frankly, shocked me as I went over it. … We need folks to turn that around.”
The governor assured that the state is only trying to track people who have been exposed to the virus, and the contact tracers are trained professionals. He said anyone who receives a call should answer their questions and provide information about people they’ve been in contact with.
“Our contact tracers are not on a witch hunt,” said Murphy. “They are only concerned with stopping the spread of this virus. We urge you: Please work with our contact tracers and do your part to end this pandemic.”
Murphy said the state is still hiring, and there’s also an urgent need for Spanish-speaking tracers.
He said all but three New Jersey counties now have 30 contact tracers for every 100,000 residents. Camden County is one of the three, with a rate of 29.8.
He said some people are likely withholding that information out of guilt or fear of repercussions for doing something like hosting gatherings in their homes. Murphy said he doesn’t know what to do to convince them to give contact tracers the information they need to help stop the spread of the virus.
“You’d think that when we talk about people who have died every day, that that would get people's attention,” he said.