Gov. Phil Murphy recently signed an executive order that removed the state of New Jersey’s outdoor gathering limit and increased its indoor gathering limit.
Among the changes that will take effect on May 19: the complete removal of all percentage capacity limits for indoor and outdoor businesses. They will still have to have six feet of distance between people or groups, but every business – from indoor amusements and recreation facilities to salons and retail stores – will be allowed to operate at 100% capacity (up from the current 50%). Indoor dining, for example, can be at 100% capacity, but tables must still be spaced out unless there are adequate partitions.
“Throughout the pandemic, data and public health needs have guided the hard decisions we’ve made on Covid-19 restrictions,” Gov. Murphy said. “With Covid-19 metrics trending in the right direction amidst substantial progress on our Covid-19 vaccination program, we can move forward with these significant steps towards a return to normalcy.”