Governor Phil Murphy has tested positive for Covid-19 but is “currently asymptomatic and feeling well,” his office announced Thursday afternoon.
As part of his regular testing protocol, Murphy, 64, took a rapid antigen test that came back positive, the governor’s communications director, Mahen Gunaratna, said in a statement Thursday. The governor “subsequently took a PCR test, which also came back positive,” Gunaratna said.
“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. “Per CDC guidance, the governor will cancel in-person events, isolate for the next five days, and continue to monitor for symptoms before taking an additional PCR test.”
On Thursday morning, Murphy appeared in Holmdel to support a supply drive for Ukraine. Holmdel Mayor Greg Buontempo told northjersey.com that the outside event didn’t last more than 10 minutes.
Murphy “called me up a little while ago to tell me,” Buontempo told the site on Thursday night. “I could tell from his voice that he felt horrible.”
Murphy has avoided Covid-19 until now. His wife, Tammy Murphy, 56, tested positive in January and was also asymptomatic.
Murphy has “diligently taken precautions to limit the spread of Covid-19 and encourages everyone eligible to get vaccinated and boosted, as he has done, to protect themselves and their loved ones from the virus,” Gunaratna added in his statement Thursday.