Health & Fitness

NJ Coronavirus Reopenings: What's Open Now, What's Opening Next

Here's what you can – and can't do – now that Gov. Murphy has announced several NJ reopenings amid the coronavirus. And here's what's next.

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(Jose F. Moreno, Staff Photographer / The Philadelphia Inquirer)

NEW JERSEY – Wanna go to the beach? Please do. Just get a beach badge before they run out.

Looking forward to graduation? You'll have to look forward to July, at the earliest.

Need a haircut? You have a choice: Cut it yourself, or wait another two weeks.

Find out what's happening in Newarkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

New Jersey is reopening, albeit slowly, as the economy is finally restarting after a nearly three-month quarantine sidelined the state's economy as coronavirus cases reached 160,000. Read more: NJ Coronavirus, Reopen Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

Many businesses have finally reopened, or they're set to reopen within weeks. Others are still sitting on the sideline, awaiting word (see the list below).

Find out what's happening in Newarkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Unlike other states that have opened by using color-shaded maps, Gov. Phil Murphy has bucked the trend in the coronavirus outbreak. He's not telling what's opening until pretty close to the last minute.

And, instead, Murphy's exercising a truly piecemeal approach, deliberately, that some find maddening, but one that he says won't create "false hope."

And while there have been some protests to his approach, Murphy's strategy has largely worked with the public if you look at the recent polls, one of which showed him with a 77 percent approval rating.

Every day, many of New Jersey's 8 million people are waiting with bated breath, usually at mid-day, for Murphy to speak so they can find out what they can do besides sit in their house and watch T.V.

Here's the latest on what you will be able do, and when, now that stage two of his reopening plan has started:

Murphy said museums, libraries and casinos will also soon reopen, but he didn't give dates for those, either.

Here is what still needs to reopen as part of "stage three," but Murphy hasn't given any indication when these will begin:

  • Allowing people to work at their physical locations
  • Allowing entertainment with limited capacity
  • Allowing indoor seating in bars and restaurants with limited capacity
  • Opening schools, but with limited capacity
  • No longer discouraging public transit

Murphy said precautions apply across all stages of reopening, including:

  • Clinically high-risk individuals who can stay at home should continue to do so.
  • All residents and businesses should follow state and federal safeguarding guidelines:
    • Wash hands
    • Wear masks in public
    • Respect social distancing
    • Minimize gatherings
    • Disinfect workplace and businesses
    • Minimize gatherings
    • No mass gatherings

Murphy said New Jersey will move toward subsequent stages based on data that demonstrates improvements in public health and the capacity to safeguard the public, including:

  • Sustained improvements in public health indicators, including new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, individuals in intensive care, and ventilator use;
  • Substantial increase in testing and contact tracing capacity;
  • Sufficient resilience in New Jersey’s health care system to include adequate bed capacity, ventilators, personal protective equipment, and workforce;
  • Widespread safeguarding of workplaces;
  • Widespread safeguarding and capacity of child care, schools, and mass transit;
  • Continued public compliance.

If public health indicators, safeguarding, or compliance worsen on a sustained basis, New Jersey will be prepared to move back to more restrictive stages as well, Murphy said.

Here's what else you can do now that Murphy has announced several reopenings amid the coronavirus crisis:

Here is Murphy's plan:

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