Social media reverberated today with news of a planned April 28 protest in Trenton over the state’s shut-down order. Around the same time, we heard state Sen. Joe Pennacchio call for Senate hearings to critically look at how Phil Murphy is handling the pandemic.

In the midst of all this, there were two other significant news items – schools will stay closed for at least another four weeks and 17 dead bodies were discovered stored at an Andover nursing home.

Just another day – well, not really – in New Jersey’s battle with the pandemic of our time.

It was the grim discovery at the Andover Sub-Acute & Rehabilitation Center that dominated the governor’s daily briefing.

He called the discovery, which apparently came about through an anonymous tip to authorities, completely “beyond the pale” and “unacceptable.” Later, he observed this is the type of thing that “shakes you to the bone.”

Judith Persichilli, the state health commissioner, explained that the first sign of problems at the Andover facility surfaced last weekend when personnel there called for more “body bags.” That prompted state officials to visit, including one occurring at 2 a.m.

There are more than 500 residents in two companion sections of the nursing home and Persichilli said 35 of them have died since March 30 -19 from COVID-19.

Depending on how you wish to look at this, the problem at Andover is offensive incompetence or a sign of how overwhelming and destructive the pandemic is. Or perhaps a combination of both. That news overshadowed extending school closings. The governor admitted keeping schools closed, effectively ending the spring sports season and putting graduation at risk is a bitter pill for students and parents. He said he’d be the happiest man on the planet if schools can reopen in mid-May, but he’s not sure they can.

Which brings us to the planned protest, which is set for outside the Trenton War Memorial from noon to 3 p.m. This is no accident; Murphy normally holds his briefings at the War Memorial at 1 p.m.

Large gatherings of people are now banned, but a Facebook post hyping the rally notes that the authorities can’t arrest everyone. Fighting words indeed.

Opposition to the state’s pandemic decrees of stay-at-home, social distancing and wear a mask, partly comes from those on the right who see every government policy they dislike as an affront to individual liberty.

But there is also bipartisan opposition to some of the governor’s perceived over-reaches like closing parks and running trails.

Responding to the planned protest, Murphy stressed that state policy has nothing to do with partisan politics – even though everything has at least something to do with partisan politics.

He said that “from the bottom of my heart”  pandemic-related decisions are made on the basis of science and health concerns.

“It isn’t some ideological bent,” Murphy said, adding that on this very day he got supportive text messages from two Republican lawmakers. He did not identify them.

And in a further example of his willingness to explain himself to anyone, he reminded people that he appeared Wednesday night with Fox News TV host Tucker Carlson.

Suffice to say, Carlson wasn’t a fan.

Many Dems refuse to go on Fox News, so this made the governor look good.

But as he said today, this was “an away game.”