State of emergency for New Jersey will remain in effect on Tuesday; vaccine mega-sites to remain closed

Trish Hartman Image
Tuesday, February 2, 2021
State of emergency for NJ will remain in effect on Tuesday
State of emergency for NJ will remain in effect on Tuesday. Action News' Trish Hartman reports.

TRENTON, New Jersey (WPVI) -- A state of emergency will remain in effect for New Jersey on Tuesday due to the winter storm, Gov. Phil Murphy announced.

With plenty of snow already, and more expected to arrive on Monday evening, dangerous travel conditions are expected to continue throughout the Garden State.

"Heavy snow, coastal flooding, and high winds are expected to continue across the state today into tomorrow," said Governor Murphy on Monday afternoon. "I urge all of our residents to follow weather-related guidance and stay off the roads in order to allow access for essential workers and emergency personnel."

New Jersey State Police say as of 7:00 p.m. Monday, troopers had responded to more than 600 crashes and more than 1,000 calls for help from drivers since the storm began Sunday.

"I was driving from Mount Laurel, New Jersey about 35 mins away from here. It took me about an hour and 15 mins," said Victor Ossirio of Robbinsville, N.J.

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State offices will be closed on Tuesday, though Murphy notes this does not impact weather-essential employees.

Plow drivers have been working around the clock.

"Rt. 130 was treacherous earlier today but it's not so bad now," said Howard Schultz of Robbinsville, who likes to plow parking lots when storms roll through. "This is the fun part; that's my buddy right there, we get to drive around and move snow."

Route 1 in Lawrence Township was slushy as the wind whipped flakes around.

In Trenton, we found snow-covered streets and people digging out their cars.

"I wasn't expecting it to continue for this long. It's a little crazy," said Uniqua Bryant.

In addition, all six vaccine mega-sites in the state will be closed on Tuesday.

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The schedules for those sites have been changed as follows:

-Atlantic (AtlantiCare) - Rescheduled to Friday

-Bergen (Hackensack Meridian Health) - Rescheduled during extended hours throughout the week

-Burlington (Virtua) - Rescheduled during extended hours throughout the week

-Gloucester (County Health) - Rescheduled to Wednesday

-Middlesex (RWJBarnabas) - Rescheduled to Friday

-Morris (Atlantic Health) - Rescheduled to Thursday

The Vaccination Call Center will remain open to pre-register individuals, answer questions, and provide contact information for sites. It is not currently scheduling appointments until the storm's impact is assessed. To reach the Vaccination Call Center dial 855-568-0545.

Individual healthcare providers will be reaching out via phone, email and/or text to reschedule any appointments for tomorrow.

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