NEW JERSEY – With the coronavirus numbers continuing to rise, Governor Phil Murphy has announced new restrictions to stop the spread – and a possibly second wave – of the virus.
Murphy is reducing the size of both indoor and outdoor gatherings, with indoor gathering lowering from 25 to 10 people and outdoor gatherings lowering from 500 to 150 people. The new indoor restrictions will be in effect starting November 17; outdoor restrictions will be in effect starting November 23.
Religious services, celebrations, political events, weddings, funerals, memorial services and performances may still continue under the current rules but are limited to 25 percent of a room’s capacity.
“It does not give me any pleasure to institute these restrictions,” Murphy said at his latest briefing. “But right now, with the numbers we are seeing, we have to take these steps to preserve and protect public health and try to slow the spread of this virus.”
Murphy also stated that he’s aware this will have to make many people adjust their Thanksgiving plans.
“I understand why there might be some frustration with this step, but as we have been saying for weeks, this will not be a normal Thanksgiving,” Murphy said. “We are urging everybody to keep their Thanksgiving gatherings as small as possible.”
At the recent COVID-19 briefing, Murphy stated how New Jersey Officials reported an additional 14,566 new cases within the past four days. This brings the total number of positive tests throughout the entire year to 281,493.
