Today, the long-awaited independent review of New Jersey’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic was released, fulfilling a promise Gov. Phil Murphy made at the very beginning of the pandemic.
The 910-page report, which was conducted by Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads, lauds many of the state’s efforts to combat Covid, saying that its response was “aggressive, wide-ranging, and made use of the toolset it had available.” But those efforts often fell short, the report argues, due to insufficient preparation and training for a crisis of Covid’s magnitude; more than 33,000 New Jerseyans are confirmed to have died of the disease since the pandemic began in 2020.
“At the State level, heroic actions were taken to respond in good faith to the crisis,” the report reads. “As the pandemic progressed, significant systemic improvements helped New Jersey mitigate the crisis, but no level of effort could overcome an inadequate healthcare infrastructure and scarcity of basic medical supplies. Neither the State nor the Federal Government had clear, executable plans in place to respond to and manage such limited resources in an uncertain and rapidly evolving environment.”
A large section of the report is devoted to analyzing the Covid response in the state’s veterans homes and other congregate care settings, which was also the subject of a U.S. Justice Department investigation.
“We analyzed New Jersey’s handling of congregate settings, visiting key sites and meeting with residents and interested organizations,” the report reads. “Our independent analysis confirms the findings by DOJ and [the State Commission of Investigation], and they are accepted here. We acknowledge that substantial reforms have been made to Veterans’ Homes in New Jersey, with additional changes being implemented. This report reviews those reforms and makes further recommendations.”
The report additionally notes that the state remains “underprepared for the next emergency,” and contains a number of recommendations for how the state can better handle any future pandemic.
Murphy, who served as governor throughout the entirety of the pandemic, said in a statement that he was thankful to the team that had prepared the report and that he would work to implement its advice.
“I am proud that New Jersey is the only state in the nation to have completed this type of independent and comprehensive review,” he said. “The report both highlights numerous examples of New Jersey’s strong leadership during the crisis, and identifies gaps in preparedness and structural deficiencies that must be addressed. I know New Jersey will be better off because of this review, and my administration looks forward to working with the Legislature on its recommendations.”