Gov. Phil Murphy warned he might once again tighten restrictions on businesses and public gatherings meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 – or at least pause current relaxations – as videos surface of patrons crowding outdoor bars and restaurants, and beaches and boardwalks.
“Folks have let their hair down a little bit too much,” Murphy said at his daily COVID-19 press briefing at the Trenton War Memorial on Monday. “We can’t look the other way. This stuff is out of bounds.”
“If the current trends in our health metrics change between now and next Thursday, we will hit the pause on the current plan” to lift restrictions, he added. “That’s the last thing I want to do.”
Gov. Phill Murphy holds his daily COVID-19 briefing in Trenton on June 9, 2020. – ANN-MARIE CARUSO, GANNETT
Videos have trickled in from over the weekend of patrons and visitors gathering at the Jersey Shore and outdoor dining establishments, many not wearing masks and virtually none of them practicing a minimum 6-foot distance distancing.
One eatery, D’Jais Bar and Grill in Belmar, was pictured in social media posts with massive dance crowds packed in outdoor tents, and spilling over onto the sidewalk and nearby roads.
Meanwhile, Tashmoo Bar in Morristown was closed down after local officials said the establishment violated social distancing guidelines.
“To see D’Jais and the boardwalks and those large crowds that aren’t social distancing and no facial coverings gives us tremendous cause for concern,” New Jersey State Police Superintendent Col. Pat Callahan added on Monday.
Many restrictions were enacted in March, ordering the closure of most businesses in order to starve the virus of any opportunities to spread to new hosts, as thousands of cases poured into the state each day.
New Jersey State Police Superintendent Col. Pat Callahan at Gov. Phil Murphy’s daily COVID-19 press briefing at the War Memorial in Trenton on May 21, 2020. – RICH HUNDLEY, THE TRENTONIAN
Those restrictions – which are only just being rolled back as the pandemic slows down on all fronts – have in turn led to record-high unemployment rates in the state and an economic recession rivaling the Great Depression.
“We don’t want to look like the other states that have gone through hell and now they’re going back through it,” Murphy said. “We’ll take the steps as necessary to make sure we don’t do that.”
Many states in the south and west – such as Arizona, California, Florida and Texas – have seen massive resurgences of the virus in recent weeks.
So far, new cases, hospitalizations and fatalities have all dropped in New Jersey, as have the rates of transmission and positivity of the virus. But three counties in South Jersey have seen upticks of the virus: Cumberland Salem and in Atlantic County, Atlantic City—home to the state’s nine casinos, which will be allowed to reopen on July 2.
“That southern number, I hope it’s not a canary in the coal mine of shore-related infections,” Murphy said.
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June 23, 2020 at 07:45PM
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'We can't do that,' Murphy says vowing crackdown on crowded bars, restaurants - NJBIZ
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