New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy pleaded with coronavirus-fatigued residents Thursday to keep following health guidelines, bluntly telling them the ultimate inconvenience is "when you die."
Murphy rattled off a series of numbers showing how the virus is spiking in New Jersey before a reporter asked what he'd say to state residents tired of Covid-19 protocols.
"You know what's really uncomfortable and annoying? When you die. That's my answer," the exasperated governor shot back.
"This is not forever. We're in a sprint right now and we're just asking people to bear down."
Of coronavirus tests administered Sunday in New Jersey, 12.02 percent came back positive, and on Wednesday there were 1,827 Covid-19 hospitalizations in the Garden State — the most since June 4, according to state data.
And of those hospitalized, 360 are in intensive care and 117 are on a ventilator.
With Thanksgiving around the corner, public health authorities across the nation fear turkey dinners could become coast-to-coast super-spreader events.
"The one screaming ask is everybody please take this seriously and remember it's not forever," Murphy said.
"But we are in the throes of it right now. We are still at war and in fact we're far more at war than we were a month or two ago. And we have got to ask you folks, please limit Thanksgiving. Please limit any private setting gatherings. Please wear your face coverings even if you're sick and tired of it, who can blame you, so am I, you got to wear them."
