Don’t expect things to change anytime soon.

That was the unsaid bottom line today after the governor unveiled “the road back.”

And a long and winding road it will be, a phrase that a baby boomer like Phil Murphy probably knows well.

The governor will officially name a committee tomorrow to oversee the reopening, but at today’s briefing he set forth six steps that are needed to execute that plan.

Step one seems the most critical – a sustained reduction in the number of COVID 19 cases, and presumably, deaths. By “sustained,” Murphy means over 14 days.

That will take – obviously – at least two weeks, which brings us under the best case scenario well into May and the likely advent of nice weather. What has been overshadowed by the pandemic is the fact the
weather for most of April has been pretty putrid – chilly and rainy.

Of course, that makes staying inside a bit easier to handle.

The governor admitted he worries about what will happen when the weather warms. As he put it, “I am worried about fatigue.”

He meant “fatigue” over staying at home and “social distancing” among the public.

After step one is reached, Murphy is looking to a doubling of current testing for the virus, more “contact tracing,” a scheme that seeks to track – perhaps electronically -the movements of those contracting the
virus and isolating those who have it.

Then – and only then – will moves to reopen businesses, parks and other aspects of daily life start.

Not much about this path seems very quick.

Asked if there is a chance we will be getting back to normal by Memorial Day, Murphy said, “I sure as heck hope we are.” But he didn’t sound all that convincing.

Memorial Day, which many see as the unofficial start of summer, is only four weeks away.

Sheila Oliver, the lieutenant governor, and Congressman Tom Malinowski joined today’s briefing.

Oliver talked about how officials across the state are cooperating on a bipartisan basis to defeat the virus.
Maybe so, but bipartisanship seems to stop at the state border.

Murphy and Malinowski took turns lambasting U.S. Treasury rules that seem to limit how the state can use $150 billion in stimulus aid and Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, for saying states can
just go bankrupt.

Both these issues popped up last week.

Both Murphy and Malinowski noted that New Jersey taxpayers contribute far more to the federal government than the state gets back in aid.

McConnell’s home state of Kentucky gets proportionately more aid back from the feds than its taxpayers contribute.

This gets talked about all the time in New Jersey, but the undeniable fact is that the state contributes so much to the federal government in taxes because its people are among the most affluent in the nation.

It’s not a sinister conspiracy.

No matter, the congressman also talked about the need for federal aid to help local governments, saying, “This is about survival of small town America.”

New Jersey is undoubtedly more suburban than classically “small town,” but you can understand Malinowski’s point. There are no large cities in his 7th District.

And somewhat proving Oliver’s point about bipartisanship. liberal Democrat Murphy said he admires Ronald Reagan. But not all the time. Reflecting on a famous Reagan quote that government often is the problem, Murphy said that in the current climate, “We need government more then ever before.”