So many people are reporting still-open businesses, NJ’s phone lines jammed
Gov. Phil Murphy ordered non-essential businesses to close this week but many people in New Jersey say not all retailers have gotten the message.
Very, very many people, apparently.
A phone number that the state set up for people to report violators became overwhelmed with calls.
Murphy gave the number out during his daily briefing on Tuesday as a way to report violations of Executive Order No. 107.
"Let me be clear if I could. My executive order is not a polite suggestion. It is an order. No one, and I mean no one who can do their job from home should be going to work in an office. We must have 100% compliance. This is about public health and it’s about people’s lives, your employees’ lives, their families’ lives, and your life," Murphy said during the media briefing.
The number is assigned to an investigator in the state Department of Homeland Security, according to a state office phone directory.
NJ.com reported that State Police requested the number be removed from their news article because the calls were interfering with a line used for "law enforcement sensitive calls."
Alexandra Altman, a spokeswoman for the governor's office, said a form has been created to report violations at covid19.nj.gov/violation. She said that calls can continue to be made to 211, a statewide information and referral line that offers help to residents.
Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ
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