620 Pandemic Pack Feature - v3 - FINAL_Pages 6 / 10 / 20 12 : 53 PM Page 3 PUSHING FORWARD CO N T I N U E S OVERWHELMINGLY , PEOPLE HAVE DONE THE RIGHT THING “ AND IT’S EXTRAOR - DINARY AND IT’S SOMETHING THAT NONE OF US SHOULD EVER FORGET . ” GM : I think so . I say that because we are clearly more prepared than we were a been home and it’s the most amount of few months ago . We had started talking [ Persichilli ] and [ O’Dowd ] did a great job time the six of us have spent together in about this in January and I had put a task and continues to . years . force together inside of government on Feb . 2 . But the country , forget New Jersey , SJM : In early March you had cancer we were at a standing start . I don’t care surgery and instead of taking some time SJM : You’ve talked a lot about this during why ; let’s have the historians figure that to really recover , you were thrust into your daily briefings and the like , but out . And we do need a national as well as dealing with the pandemic . So , I’m just what does it say to you about the resolve a state postmortem . But , we just weren’t curious to know how you are doing ; that people across the state have shown ready as a country . We are , in New Jersey how’s your health these days ? and how they’ve come together ? Whether at least , a lot more ready , but not yet it’s the first responders and the health GM : You’re great to ask , man . I had kidney where we need to be . care workers on the front lines to the surgery , which turned out to be a malig - I think you threw an important phrase families who are juggling virtual work nant tumor on March 4 . That was also into your question , which is therapeutics . with virtual learning to the people who the day of our first positive test in the If we get real — and I don’t mean , hey it have volunteered by sewing masks , state , so I found out about that as they works for malaria , let’s try it for COVID - donating personal protective equipment , rolled me back into my room . 19 — I mean a donating food , etc . Mike Tyson has that great line : “ Every - FDA - approved therapeutic one’s got a plan until they get punched GM : It’s unbelievable , Jersey has stood so explicitly for COVID , and then hopefully in the face . ” I tall . We’ve lost over 10,000 people , let’s not too far down the road you get a vac - had a plan to spend three never forget that and let’s never forget cine , then that’s an accelerant in terms days in the hospital , which I did do , and each and every one of them . But at the of how ready you can be . So we’re more then 10 days working from home . I got same time , New Jersey has been unbe - ready , but not yet where we need to be or about halfway through that and the whole lievable , north to south , from one line of want to be and that’s a work in progress , thing was thrown out the window . But work to another . Clearly , heroic health I can tell you that right now . That’s part thank God , as I sit here today with you care workers , first responders , N.J . Transit of the stuff we are doing every day , is to right now , I feel good . I went for a run bus drivers , rail operators , essential retail prepare for this if it rears itself again . this morning and I feel good . It’s not how workers , police , fire , longshoremen , ware - I expected it to be , but I’m hanging in . house workers ; I mean it’s unbelievable . SJM : You are managing not only a pub - And when you add to that everyone else lic health crisis , but a financial crisis as SJM : An unprecedented crisis like this that has done the right thing — we talk well . How do you think the $ 50 million certainly tests one’s leadership , but on about the “ knuckleheads , ” but there just in funding for small businesses through a personal level how are you coping with aren’t that many of them . Overwhelmingly , the CARES Act you recently announced this ? What is life like when you are finally people have done the right thing and it’s will help reshape and re - shift the state’s able to get a moment to yourself away extraordinary and it’s something that economy ? from the cameras and the chaos ? none of us should ever forget . GM : I’m doing OK and I do find that my GM : You’ve got awful unemployment and family is a big part of that . We’ve got four incredible amounts of people suffering . children , three in college and one in high You’ve then got small businesses that SJM : Though the curve has flattened school . They’ve all been remote learning have been blown up . That $ 50 million and there’s hope that the next few months since March . My wife , Tammy , is working we were able to take from the CARES Act will continue that trend , there’s a threat full - time . Really , not just as First Lady , and put it toward grants that the Economic the virus could rear its head in the fall but she’s been helping to run the New Development Authority will execute ; that’s and winter . Do you feel that the state is Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund . And so , we a big deal . Small businesses have been better prepared today than it was and get the six of us together more often than crushed and it will help a lot . But , it’s not are you hopeful that with that level of we ever would have . enough and that is the problem , so we preparedness coupled with any possible If you look for a silver lining , the only need more federal support . We’ll do every - therapeutics or other tools that may guy who was at home was our high thing we can inside of New Jersey , but become available , that the situation schooler ; the other three were away , in we need more federal support and we’ll we’ve all been going through since early some cases far away , at college . And they’ve stay on that . March will not repeat itself to this extent ? SOUTH JERSEY MAGAZINE volume 17 issue 3 SouthJerseyMagazine.com | 25