Why do we have to wait until Friday to lift restrictions in NJ?

The good news is Gov. Murphy has lifted most of the COVID restrictions in New Jersey. The bad news is we have to wait until Friday for it to take effect?

This begs the question why. What exactly is happening or going to happen in the next three days that forces us to continue to live like this?

It's like all week long New Jersey will have "Friday on My Mind." For weeks of Fridays past we kept hearing about the big announcement to come on Monday. Then we would be let down with good news/bad news announcements like businesses can open to full capacity, but they must practice social distancing.

Finally, just in time for Memorial Day weekend, he announces no more indoor masks and social distancing for the vaccinated, which if anyone should ask, we're ALL vaccinated. Or as Dennis and Judi say we "identify" as vaccinated. Then he makes us wait until Memorial Day weekend for it to take effect.

The numbers are good. According to Erin Vogt's report:

"The rate of transmission (Rt) stood at 0.51 earlier Monday — anything above 1.0 had been considered troubling. Heading into last Memorial Day weekend, the daily positivity or spot positivity rate was at 14% with just over 3,000 COVID-19 patients hospitalized.
Also as of Monday, just 699 patients were being treated in hospitals for COVID and more than 4.8 million people in the state had received at least one vaccine dose.
That means the long-stated goal of having 4.7 million fully vaccinated people by the end of June has nearly been realized, based on second shot scheduling and the two-week follow-up period."

There is nothing that is going to happen in the next three days that would prevent us from opening right now. Why wait?

I posed this question on my New Jersey 101.5 show Monday night along with a Twitter poll.

If Murphy wanted the change to take effect on a Friday, he should have made it LAST Friday and give these starving businesses more time to make money while they prepare for the summer. They need every day they can get, as do we the people, who are so sick of wearing these stupid masks into stores and standing on cardboard feet like we're playing some sort of demented "Jersey Twister."

Many of my pollsters also questioned the reasoning which I can't make sense of.

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The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise. Any opinions expressed are Steve's own. Steve Trevelise is on New Jersey 101.5 Monday-Thursday from 7pm-11pm. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.

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