What is open in New Jersey this weekend?
Diners enjoy eating their meals outside at a restaurant in Montclair, N.J., Wednesday, July 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
NEW JERSEY - Governor Phil Murphy announced Wednesday that the state’s casinos, outdoor amusement parks, museums, libraries, indoor recreation centers, gyms, fitness centers, and more may reopen on July 2, as long as guidelines regarding facial coverings and social distancing are obeyed.
The state already allowed its indoor shopping malls to reopen on Monday, as New Jersey continues to make its way through Phase Two of its reopening plan.
While they will be able to reopen tomorrow at 25 percent capacity, Murphy has already banned drinking and smoking at Atlantic City casinos, leading to the Borgata announcing that it would delay reopening.
On July 6, youth day camps, in-person summer education, and graduation ceremonies will be allowed to reopen, along with an expansion of NJTransit rail and light rail service.
However, due to a lack of compliance over the use of face masks and social distancing, Murphy has said that he was postponing the restart of indoor dining, also citing the increase in COVID-19 cases in many other states across the nation.
In addition, the state saw a slight increase in new hospitalizations due to COVID-19 since June 16.
“We have to make sure one-day increases in our numbers don’t turn into long-term trends,” Murphy said in a tweet. “We’ve absolutely crushed our curves since the peak. We must keep this going.”
The state reported 423 new coronavirus cases on Thursday and an additional 45 deaths, pushing the statewide death toll to 13,224.