TRENTON, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- New Jersey will hire at least 1,600 contact tracers this month as it enters the second phase of its reopening, Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday.
LISTEN LIVE: 1010 WINS' 24/7 coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
Stage 2 of the state's reopening, which includes outdoor dining and limited in-person retail, will start on June 15.
During his daily briefing on Wednesday, Murphy said New Jersey will bring at least 1,600 contact tracers on board by the end of June to support the reopening, in addition to the approximately 900 contact tracers who are already working for health departments across the state.
"Each step of our restart will be accompanied by the on-boarding of new contact tracers," he said. "We are already preparing for the first cohort and expect to be ready to deploy them as we hit our benchmark dates for Stage 2."
New Jersey is also "fully prepared" to hire an additional 4,000 contact tracers — or more — if they are needed in the coming months, he said.
Rutgers Public School of Health will team up with local health departments to train the new contact tracers, he noted. New Jersey is looking for people interested in both volunteer and paid contact tracing positions, according to the state's COVID-19 Information Hub.
"Our job over the coming weeks is to grow their ranks, and we will, and we will do so rapidly," he said. "Contact tracing is a huge element in our ability to be prepared."
Murphy on Wednesday reported 611 new COVID-19 cases and 74 new deaths, bringing the case total to 165,346 and the state's death toll to 12,377. As of Tuesday night, 1,701 people in New Jersey were hospitalized with COVID-19, he said.
"It's been only 99 days since our first positive COVID-19 case," he said. "This is a historic and unprecedented tragedy for our state."
On Tuesday, Murphy lifted the state's stay-at-home order, signing an executive order that raised the cap on the number of people allowed at both indoor and outdoor gatherings.
Indoor gatherings will now be capped at 50 people, or 25 percent of the building's capacity, depending on which number is lower, he said. Outdoor gatherings will be capped at 100 people.
The executive order also increased the number of people allowed at indoor religious services; greenlit "First Amendment-protected" outdoor activities like political protests and outdoor religious services; allowed pools to reopen on June 22; and allowed outdoor recreational and entertainment businesses — with the exception of amusement parks, water parks and arcades — to reopen.
Murphy said he planned to raise the limit on all other outdoor gatherings to 250 people on June 22 and 500 people on July 3, barring a "significant uptick" in COVID-19 cases.
New Jersey schools will most likely be able to hold graduations with up to 500 attendees by July 6, he said.
Like 1010 WINS on Facebook and follow @1010WINS on Twitter to get breaking news, traffic, and weather for New York City.
