Coronavirus Reopening: Gov. Murphy Details 'The Road Back' 6-Step Plan For New Jersey
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- The reopening of businesses, restaurants and schools now have some specific conditions in the eyes of state governments going through the coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. Phil Murphy announced a six-step plan of conditions that need to be met before New Jersey eases up on the public shutdown ordered to slow the spread of COVID-19 infections. In addition, on Tuesday he will announce members of a Restart and Recovery Commission who will be tasked with determining priorities for reopening.
Among the immediate questions Murphy answered for now: The decision to reopen schools won't come until May 15 at the earliest, and the reopening of city parks will be left to local mayors, CBS2's Lisa Rozner reported.
Murphy said the plan will be done in "a harmonized way" with neighboring states' plans, along with the coalition of six states in the region that announced plans to coordinate the timing for reopening.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his phased-in reopening Sunday.
Our #COVID19 response has been guided by the simple truth that public health creates economic health. The road back will be driven by data, science, and common sense.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) April 26, 2020
Join me tomorrow at 12:00 PM as we unveil our roadmap for responsibly reopening New Jersey. pic.twitter.com/2j2hgR1Qc3
Murphy's first step focuses on New Jersey's stay-at-home order, which has been in effect since March 21. It will remain in effect in its entirety "until further notice." It orders facial covering, school closures and work-from-home directives until the state sees a sustained reduction in the number of new positive COVID-19 test results, new coronavirus-related hospitalizations, and hospitals stepping down from "functioning under a crisis standard of care" in a 14-day span.
"Before we reopen non-essential stores and businesses, before we can reopen our parks or before we allow in-person dining in our restaurants -- among any host of other activities -- people need to know, first and foremost, that their health will be safeguarded from COVID 19," the governor said on Monday.
CORONAVIRUS: NY Health Dept. | NY Call 1-(888)-364-3065 | NYC Health Dept. | NYC Call 311, Text COVID to 692692 | NJ COVID-19 Info Hub | NJ Call 1-(800)-222-1222 or 211, Text NJCOVID to 898211 | CT Health Dept. | CT Call 211 | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
In the 24 hours prior to Murphy's announcement, New Jersey saw 2,146 new confirmed COVID-19 cases added to a statewide total of 111,188 cases, and 106 new fatalities adding to a state toll of 6,044.
The second step requires significantly ramped-up diagnostic testing plans to at least double New Jersey's current testing capacity, a milestone Murphy expects to reach by the end of May.
WATCH: Gov. Murphy Details New Jersey's 6-Step Reopening Plan
The third step will expand the number of contact trackers and technologies to help identify those who may have come into contact in COVID-19-infected individuals. Based on a ratio of 15 to 81 people needed to do contact tracing for every 100,000 residents, New Jersey will need between 1,300 to 7,000 people hired for this work.
The fourth step will involve being ready to give newly infected people "a safe and free place to isolate," said Murphy.
"We are fully prepared that when we restart our economy, we will see COVID-19 cases, even if we get everything right," the governor said.
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The remaining two steps focus on protecting the economy during the restart and planning for resiliency with New Jersey's own backup supply of personal protective gear should the pandemic flare up again anywhere in the state.
"Let me repeat a basic truth: Until we give the public ... until we give you all confidence that you should not be fearful," the governor said. "We cannot take further steps, a plan that is needlessly rushed is a plan that will needlessly fail."
When asked if we could see change by Memorial Day, the governor danced around answering but said he hopes there will be "some semblance" of the norm on the Jersey Shore this summer.
"Concerts are not going to be anytime soon, as an example where there's a high, high amount of density meaning the risk is high," said Murphy. "I don't envision being in tight spaces without real restrictions on capacity and social distancing and frankly on the beach I don't see it."
While state parks remain closed, some parts of New Jersey have already begun their own reopening steps. Parks across Jersey City have been closed for weeks, but five major parks were to reopen Monday. City officials reserve the right to limit entry if overcrowding becomes an issue, and residents must maintain a proper social distance.
The governor did not detail a plan for restaurants, but Jersey City's mayor said he is considering reducing restaurants' capacity by 40% to 50% and possibly offsetting some of it with expanded outdoor seating, and even taking away parking spaces if it means more tables for diners.