You can do a lot of things with numbers.

But when the governor reported today 3,643 new cases of COVID-19, it pushed the statewide total above 90,000, or more precisely, to 92,387.

Is there anything magical about 90,000?

Not really, but then again, 90,000 is 1 percent of the state’s estimated population of 9 million.

Think about that for a minute. One percent of the people in New Jersey have been infected with the disease. That’s one out of the next 100 people you may see driving on our roads or in the local supermarket.

Everyone looks at numbers differently, but that seems to bring home the magnitude of the pandemic.

And it explains why the state lockdown and rules on social distancing are not going away anytime soon.
Phil Murphy made that clear today when he said the current state of affairs likely has “weeks to go.”

And again referencing closing parks – arguably the most controversial of his edicts – Murphy said, “Lots of folks don’t want to see that, but we have too.”

Just for the record, the “lots of folks” includes officials from both sides of the aisle.

The governor never is all that gloomy at his briefings. He praises residents for obeying executive orders and doing the right thing. And he also takes time to congratulate residents for volunteering and doing great things to help their fellow citizens. Moreover, each day he highlights the achievements of some of those who have died.

But he doesn’t sugarcoat things either. As it was today when Murphy said residents still have to prepare for “self-sacrifice and discipline.”

That’s really not an uplifting message, but while it is quite irrelevant to the topic at hand, the governor just got an approval rating of 71 percent in a poll by Monmouth University. So at the moment, New Jerseyans are buying into his policies.

It doesn’t seem to be in Murphy’s character to gloat – especially during a health crisis – but he has to take satisfaction in having a rising approval rating.