NJ to lift indoor mask mandate, social distancing rules on Friday: Murphy
TRENTON, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- New Jersey will lift its indoor mask mandate and social distancing requirement at the end of the week, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday.
The Garden State will adopt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new guidance — which allows vaccinated people to go maskless in many indoor settings — on Friday, May 28, Murphy said at a news briefing Monday afternoon.
The state will also lift its six-foot social distancing requirement, its ban on barside eating and drinking and its ban on dance floors at bars and restaurants that day, he said.
On June 4, meanwhile, the state will remove all of its limits on indoor gatherings, including the 30% limit on large indoor venues.
Businesses and private indoor spaces will still be allowed to require employees, customers and guests to wear face coverings, the governor noted. And New Jerseyans who are not fully vaccinated should still wear masks in indoor public settings, he said.
Masks will also still be required in the following settings, he said:
• In health care settings, correctional facilities, and homeless shelters
• On airplanes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation
• In transportation hubs such as airports and stations
• Public-facing state offices, such as tNew Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission offices
• Worksites that are closed to the public, including warehousing and manufacturing facilities
• Child care centers and facilities
• Youth summer camps
• Public, private, or parochial preschool program premises
• Elementary and secondary schools, including charter and renaissance schools
"The steps we've announced today are the clearest signs of our commitment to carefully and deliberately reopening our state," Murphy said. "We continue to trend in the right direction with every indicator and our vaccination numbers have increased dramatically over the last two weeks."
