Phil Murphy hopes the president is right, but he really doesn’t think he is.

Donald Trump has been saying for a few days now that he wants to “open” the country by Easter. The president is even – a bit romantically perhaps – talking about churches being filled on Easter Sunday, April 13.

Asked about this during an interview this morning on WCBS radio, Murphy said he’d like to see the president’s wish come true. But he added, “The data does not show that.”

The governor had no updated daily numbers yet on the toll the coronavirus is taking in New Jersey, but he said there is no indication the curve is being “flattened.”

The president is saying the cure may be worse than the disease, suggesting that it may soon be time to loosen up requirements that have closed schools, most businesses and told people to stay home.

Murphy doesn’t think so.

He said he fears the virus “will only get worse” if regulations are loosened.

Test centers are open in New Jersey, but supplies – especially Personal Protection Equipment or PPE – remain low. That’s why some test centers close soon after they open. Optimistically looking ahead, the governor said he hoped the possibility of developing an in-home testing device – you’d get results in 45 minutes – becomes reality. But that’s not happening today or tomorrow.

Now that an agreement is in hand, Congrerss is poised to vote soon on a massive relief package that is designed to pump money into the entire economy – businesses, hospitals, local governments and
individuals.

The benefits for New Jersey are evident.

Then again, as Murphy pointed out, the trillion dollar plus package includes no money for ventilators or surgical masks.