TRENTON – The governor’s May 15, press conference noted the start of lifting the barring of elective surgeries that were previously suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic on May 26.
Commissioner Judy Persichilli, who heads the state’s Department of Health spoke during the press conference about that portion of the governor’s executive order.
“As we prepared for the surge of COVID-19 cases in our hospitals we took steps to preserve our health care systems capacity to treat those with emergency or intensive care by suspending elective procedures in the state.”
She added that by the state taking this step critical resources were preserved including ventilators, respirators and personal protective equipment. She noted that while such procedures were called elective for those battling an illness, there were those dealing with chronic pain and such surgeries are needed for their well-being.
“With the stress on hospital capacity and resources declining, and decreasing new cases of COVID-19 we are taking steps to allow and phase in elective surgeries beginning with urgent surgical procedures,” the commissioner said.
“Safety and protection of patients and staff will be paramount,” Persichilli stressed. She said facilities would be developing plans to test patients 72 hours prior to surgery and to conduct symptom screening on the day of surgery.
“They will additionally require quarantine three days prior to surgery. Patients testing positive for COVID-19 prior to the surgical procedure or having symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should not have an elective procedure that is not urgent,” Persichilli added.
Facilities have implemented all necessary controls to prevent the spread of the virus and those controls include cleaning and disinfecting, social distancing in waiting rooms, limiting and restricting vistors and using physical barriers and masking when possible.”
She said the facilities would have to assure that they have adequate staffing, PPE and supplies appropriate to the number and type of procedures to be performed.
The commissioner said her department would be “offering guidance to the facilities that will outline requirements that I covered in greater detail.” She also noted that hospitalizations for that day were down to 3,823 of COVID-19 positive patients and persons under investigation.
Persichilli said, “included in that number are 1,127 individuals critical care with 75% of those patients on ventilators.” She said that all 17 cases of pediatric COVID-19 were being reviewed by the Communicable Disease Service.
Gov. Murphy said that flags remain at half-staff in the state in solidarity to those who have died to complications of the COVID-19 virus in their honor and those they left behind. “We remember together because we are all in this together. May it always be that way.”
The governor gave a shout out to President Donald H. Trump saying he had received a call from the president.
Murphy said the president had said on a talk show earlier in the day that “a big slug of money was coming to NJ Transit and he wanted to tell me that personally. He said something to the effect that when the numbers are this big I give you a call directly.”
“That was welcome news as you can imagine. It was good to speak to him and I want to thank him and his team for all the common ground that we have been able to find and that is important for NJ Transit as that is a big deal and a big game changer,” Murphy said.
The governor went on to speak about the importance of the 2020 Census. “I ask again that you and your family are accurately counted by going to 2020Census.guv and responding. Since last week our overall response rate has increased. We are now at 61% participation.”
While that was the good news the governor went on to say that the challenge is that the state ranks 21 out of the 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. “Even though you are picking up the pace, so is everybody else.”
“There is no reason why we can’t be in at least the top 10 and my super stretch objective is to be number one,” the governor added.
Gov. Murphy noted that some shore area communities may show a lack of response “because a lot of homes are not year-round homes and these property owners may have likely already responded from their primary homes.”
He advised such homeowners who have a second home to register at the website to notify census takers it is a seasonal home. “The census is the data that we need to make accurate decisions in the state of New Jersey and directly reflects the amount of federal funds we get back from Washington. New Jersey was undercounted in the last census and because of that we have literally left billions of federal dollars on the table over the past decade.”
The governor concluded his daily news conference noting that he had been scheduled months ago to serve at the commencement of students at Ramapo College of New Jersey.
“Obviously I am here and the class of 2020 completed their courses at home. I do not want them to think they are forgotten. To every graduating student, please know how proud we are of your accomplishment. You are graduating at an unprecedented time,” Murphy added.
