New Jersey will allow outdoor dining, nonessential retail to open June 15

Gov. Phil Murphy (D) on Monday said New Jersey will allow outdoor dining and in-person retail to begin in mid-June as the state pushes forward with its gradual reopening plan amid the pandemic.

New Jersey is ready to move to its second stage and will allow more nonessential business to reopen on June 15, the governor said.

That next step will allow restaurants to have customers in outdoor settings and nonessential retail stores to have customers indoors.

On June 22, salons and barbershops will be able to reopen.

The second stage also allows for gyms and health clubs to reopen at reduced capacity. Murphy said he will soon provide an update on a specific date for reopening those facilities.

New Jersey was one of the states hit hardest by the coronavirus, and Murphy stressed that residents should remain committed to following social distancing guidelines and wearing face coverings.

“Just because the calendar says June 15 doesn’t mean that everyone should just go back to what they were doing and the way they were doing it pre-COVID,” he said. 

“Let’s use common sense for the common good,” he added. “Only a successful stage two can get us to stage three.”

Murphy reported 509 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 27 new deaths Tuesday, bringing the state’s total cases to 160,918 and total fatalities to 11,721.