Phil Murphy’s COVID briefings are coming to an end.

The last briefing is set for March 4, which is the two-year anniversary of the state’s first recorded case of what was then called the coronavirus. So, you can say the circle is about to close.

“We believe now is the time to end these briefings,” Murphy said today.

The governor said the time is right for a number of reasons. New cases and hospitalizations are down. More people are getting vaccinated and the school mask mandate ends on March 7.

Murphy said virtually all governors in the country convened regular pandemic briefings, but he said he takes pride in holding more than anyone else.

The governor began regularly briefing the press and public on the virus as soon as the pandemic erupted in March, 2020. Initially, the briefings were seven days a week, but were then scaled back to weekdays only.

As the pandemic ebbed, Murphy’s briefings were reduced to three days a week and lately, to once a week.

In summing up where we are now, and why the briefings are ending, the governor said, “We’re pretty much getting back to where we want to be, which is normal.”

It’s easy to forget how the world was two years ago, but one thing is clear – Murphy’s visibility at the time was not all that high. The briefings changed that and quickly.

Murphy’s name recognition and poll numbers soared, at least in the beginning of the pandemic.

After all, the governor was on TV every day. He not only updated the numbers, but expressed sympathy for those who perished by highlighting three victims of the virus at every briefing.

The regular briefings introduced the term, “knucklehead,” into the state’s political lexicon. That was the label Murphy gave to those who brazenly violated pandemic regulations. The briefings also gave publicity to two people normally unknown to average New Jerseyans – Pat Callahan, the head of the State Police, and Judy Persichilli, the commissioner of the state Health Department. Both attended virtually every briefing. At just about every session, Murphy called Persichilli “the woman who needs no introduction.”

As he did today, the governor also used his briefings to answer questions about broader points. Today, he called Vladimir Putin a thug and said Donald Trump should be ashamed of himself for praising the “genius” of Russia’s move into sections of Ukraine.