Trump issued a Major Disaster Declaration for New Jersey due to Covid-19

President Donald Trump has declared a Major Disaster in New Jersey. This declaration implies federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a statement issued by the White House, Federal funding will be available to State, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, for all areas in the State of New Jersey impacted by coronavirus.

The President´s declaration comes after he declared that a major disaster exists in New York, Texas, Louisiana, Iowa and Florida due to the health crisis.

Governor Phil Murphy today announced what the Major Disaster Declaration means for New Jersey. “With our major disaster declaration approved, New Jersey will now have access to greater essential federal support to help our residents through this emergency. This declaration will allow us to lift remaining bureaucratic barriers to assistance and enhance our statewide response to COVID-19.”

Murphy also expressed his satisfaction for this important support. “I am grateful to the Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for their collaboration and coordination in supporting our response and recovery efforts to COVID-19 in New Jersey.”

However, in order to stress how serious the situation is in New Jersey due to COVID-19, the Governor updated the cases. “We have learned of an additional 736 positive test results. That brings the statewide total to 4402. We have also learned of 18 more COVID-19 related deaths in our state, and that number does not get any easier to report I promise you. To date, that means that 62 of our fellow residents in the great state of New Jersey have lost their lives as a result of COVID-19 related complications since this emergency was declared.”

In his request dated March 23, 2020, Governor Murphy asked for two types of statewide assistance, including individual assistance, which provides assistance to individuals and households, and public assistance, which includes assistance for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities.