Gov. Phil Murphy announced Thursday night he’s extending the public-health emergency he declared in New Jersey for the coronavirus pandemic by another 30 days, even as the state’s outbreak continues to decline and his gradual reopening plan keeps moving forward.
The move extends all of Murphy’s executive orders that remain in place to respond to the virus, such as his his order for residents to stay home as much as possible.
The governor has begun to lift some of the business closings and other restrictions in recent weeks as the Garden State’s hospitalizations, deaths, and cases have steadily dropped.
But he said Friday that “we’re still not back to 100%.”
“As we move forward with our restart and recovery plan, maintaining access to all resources available is essential,” Murphy said in a statement. “Extending the Public Health Emergency allows us to continue to work to save lives, while safely and securely reopening our state’s economy.”
Murphy declared both a state of emergency and a public-health emergency on March 9 as COVID-19 was beginning to spread in the Garden State, which is now home to the second-most deaths and cases in the U.S.
The state of emergency is indefinite, but the public-health emergency must be renewed every 30 days. Murphy extended the order on April 7 and again in early May. This new extension will remain in place through early July.
A state of emergency gives state authorities certain executive powers and safeguards to respond to a crisis. It also allows the state to receive federal aid.
A public-health emergency allows the governor to take broad action to protect New Jersey under the Emergency Health Powers Act.
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The move comes hours after state officials reported 92 new deaths attributed to COVID-19 and 603 new cases the Garden State.
New Jersey, a densely populated state of 9 million residents, has seen at least 11,970 deaths, with at least 162,530 cases, since the outbreak here started March 4.
But hospitalizations for the virus fell below 2,000 as of Wednesday night — the first time the state has fallen below that mark in more than two months.
Murphy announced Monday the state will enter “Stage 2” of its multi-phase reopening plan on June 15, beginning with allowing outdoor dining and nonessential retail stores to welcome customers inside at reduced capacity. Hair salons and barbershops will follow June 22.
Gyms, libraries, museums, and some government offices — such as motor vehicle services — are also expected to reopen during the stage, though there is not timeline yet for those.
Murphy said Thursday that he is expected to have more details Friday on reopening Motor Vehicle Commission services.
“We’re working that through right now,” he said, noting that the state is planning to “reimagine the MVC experience."
The governor has not outlined specific benchmarks the state has reached to guide each decisions. Instead, he has pointed to an overall drop in the number of new cases, deaths, and hospitalizations, as well as a steady decrease in the virus’ rate of reproduction.
Murphy has also noted that New Jersey has ramped up testing and is expanding contact tracers that will allow officials to more easily track any coronavirus spikes.
Nearly 80% of the deaths in New Jersey have been of residents 65 and older, while 47% of the deaths were of those 80 and older, officials said Wednesday.
In addition, about 43% of lab-confirmed deaths have been of residents and staff members of the state’s longterm care facilities, such as nursing and veteran homes.
Murphy has already allowed parks, beaches, boardwalks, and lakes in New Jersey to reopen. He increased the limit on outdoor gatherings to 25. Indoor gatherings remain capped at 10.
The governor announced last week that child daycare centers in New Jersey can reopen June 15, outdoor, non-contact organized sports can resume June 22, and youth day camps can operate beginning July 6, all with restrictions. He also said live horse racing can return, without fans, as early as this weekend. And he said the state is hoping to allow larger indoor gatherings, including those at churches and other houses of worship, by the weekend of June 12.
Nearly 1.2 million New Jersey residents have filed for unemployment since aggressive social distancing started in mid-March, causing the state’s unemployment rate to surge to 15.3%, though the number of new claims has fallen in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, the state Assembly on Thursday passed Murphy’s plan for the state government to make up for massive losses in tax revenue by allowing up to $14 billion in borrowing.
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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
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N.J. coronavirus public-health emergency extended 30 days. State of emergency remains in effect. - NJ.com
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