NEW JERSEY – Governor Phil Murphy has announced that beginning May 28, the indoor mask mandate will be dropped.
With Memorial Day weekend coming up, Murphy makes the huge announcement as many restaurants and business prepare for the busy holiday.
Along with stopping the mask mandate, Murphy also announced that the six-feet, social distancing requirement will end.
Individual businesses and other entities which oversee indoor spaces may continue to require that employees and customers/guests wear face masks.
Masks will continue to be required in the following places:
- Healthcare settings and long-term care facilities
- Correctional facilities
- Homeless shelters
- On an airplane, bus and train stations and other transit hubs
- Public-facing state offices, such as Motor Vehicle Commission Agencies
- Worksites that are closed to the public, including warehousing and manufacturing facilities
The Executive Order will not extend to:
- Child-care centers and facilities
- Youth summer camps
- Public, private or parochial preschool program premises and elementary and secondary schools, including charter and renaissance schools
- Worksites that are not open to the public, including manufacturing and warehousing facilities
Murphy and the CDC are urging those who are not vaccinated to wear a face mask at any indoor public setting.
“Yes, if you are not vaccinated, we encourage you to get vaccinated, or if not follow the CDC guidance to wear a face mask. We won’t have law enforcement checking people’s vaccination status, but we are asking people to be responsible and to do the right thing. For your own safety and for the safety of the community,” Murphy said.
Murphy expressed that if you feel more comfortable wearing the mask inside still, to continue to do so and that this order does not prohibit wearing masks.
“There’s nothing wrong with being cautious of your own health, your families or the community,” Murphy said. “To be equally sure, we will not tolerate anyone being demeaned or bullied or excluded for wanting to continue to mask up… there will be consequences and will not be tolerated.
In addition, Murphy announced that dance floors at bars and restaurants may reopen. The requirement that individuals remain seated while ordering and eating/drinking will also be lifted.
Effective June 4, all indoor gathering limits will be lifted and the 30 percent limit on large indoor venues will be lifted.
“These steps when all added together are the clearest signs of our commitment to carefully and deliberately reopening our state after what has been a truly almost crushing 15-month period,” Murphy said.
