New Jersey Dem Gov Admits No Virus Outbreaks Found Yet After Trump Fundraiser

 On Tuesday, New Jersey Democrat Governor Phil Murphy admitted that he and other New Jersey officials had not found any coronavirus outbreaks linked to President Trump’s fundraiser at his Bedminster golf club on October 1.

Joined by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Murphy said, “We’re not aware of any outbreaks.”

Last week Murphy announced an investigation had been launched to ascertain whether the event violated state coronavirus rules. He tweeted, “The President & his staff acted recklessly in coming to New Jersey knowing that they had been exposed to someone with a confirmed positive test. We hope that no confirmed cases come out of the event in Bedminster.”

“Contact tracing efforts ARE underway following last week’s fundraising event with the President at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster. We are tracing 206 attendees at the two separate events (and) 19 staff members who were involved in both events,” Murphy continued, adding, “Working with @CDCgov, we’ve contacted out-of-state attendees. The @NJDeptofHealth, in partnership with the Somerset County Health Dept and local officials in Bedminster, is leading contact-tracing efforts within New Jersey — including the staff at the golf club.”

Murphy also stated, “We continue to investigate reports that suggest the Bedminster event may not have complied with our current rules, which may have put others at risk. Any failures to comply with our emergency orders will be referred to @NewJerseyOAG for a follow up.”

“After news of the event initially surfaced earlier this month, the White House provided Jersey health officials with a list of at least 206 people who had attended the event, which was held at the Trump National Golf Club and included a campaign fundraiser and a roundtable,” the New York Post reported.

A few days after the event in Bedminster, Murphy appeared on CBS’ “This Morning,” where he stated, “It’s very frustrating; there’s no other way to put it. We have paid an enormous price in New Jersey with COVID; we’ve lost over 14,000 people. We’ve gotten things largely under control but we’re dealing with our own spikes inside of our four walls.  And to have a group — as they say, the virus doesn’t care whop you are. New Jersey doesn’t care who you are. A group of folks from out of state, coming in knowingly having been exposed to someone who’s positive, is really, really frustrating. It’s complicated. We started the contact tracing immediately; we ultimately got a list of the attendees by mid-afternoon on Friday … we’ve done everything and we continue to do everything we can. We need more out of the federal side of this, but it’s extremely frustrating.”

Asked if he had found any evidence of a COVID spread, Murphy answered, “To the best of my knowledge, no. I was just on with our health commissioner this morning. But there’s a big but here … it could be days. This virus takes a number of days to incubate …”