March 26, 2020
President Donald Trump issued a Major Disaster Declaration for New Jersey to help the state combat the coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Phil Murphy and the White House announced Thursday.
The declaration will provide New Jersey with additional federal assistance to aid statewide efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Murphy said.
"With our major disaster declaration approved, New Jersey will now have access to greater essential federal support to help our residents through this emergency," Murphy said in a statement. "This declaration will allow us to lift remaining bureaucratic barriers to assistance and enhance our statewide response to COVID-19. I am grateful to the Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for their collaboration and coordination in supporting our response and recovery efforts to COVID-19 in New Jersey."
Murphy made the request for federal emergency aid to help statewide and local efforts on Monday. The federal government will now provide assistance for individuals and households in the state, as well as for emergency work and repairing disaster-damaged facilities on the frontlines fighting the pandemic.
New Jersey becomes the ninth state to receive additional federal funding through FEMA as a result of the Major Disaster Declaration. Trump has approved the same measures for New York, Washington, California, Iowa, Louisiana, Texas, Florida, and North Carolina.
BREAKING: We've received a Major Disaster Declaration for New Jersey.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) March 26, 2020
We will now have access to greater essential federal support to help us through the #COVID19 emergency.
I'm grateful to @realDonaldTrump, @VP, and @fema for their support of our response & recovery efforts.
New Jersey has confirmed 4,402 COVID-19 cases, the second-most of any state and only behind New York, and 62 people with the virus had died as of Wednesday afternoon. The majority are in North Jersey – not far from New York City, the epicenter of the United States' coronavirus outbreak.
South Jersey has 149 confirmed patients with the coronavirus, as of Wednesday afternoon. Camden County has 61 cases, Burlington County has 48 and Gloucester County has 23. Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem counties have 17 combined cases.
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