Ocean City Kicks Off Memorial Day Weekend With Unlocking Of The Ocean As New Jersey Lifts Mask Mandate
OCEAN CITY, N.J. (CBS) -- As we head into the holiday weekend, New Jersey is getting back to a sense of normalcy. Starting today, wearing masks and social distancing are no longer mandated for fully vaccinated people.
There's mixed reactions, but many people are excited. And despite the gloomy weather, we saw the sun peeking out earlier today just as beaches officially opened.
As the unofficial start of summer kicks off, Ocean City leaders used a giant key to unlock the beach Friday.
"We've been waiting for this day for a long time. It's great, a lot of people are here," Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian said.
Ocean City also had its Business Persons Plunge, a slow march of fully-clothed business people into the chilly Atlantic Ocean for the first swim of the summer.
"I was a little worried when the weather report didn't look great today, but it wasn't that bad. I love it. Welcome back summer," Chris Oteri said.
"The city's now officially open for business, and we're all ready to roll," said Tom Heist of Heist Insurance Agency. "It's my best suit. I actually have a very nice engagement this afternoon so I wanted to come prepared -- little dip, off to lunch!"
And after a long wait, the Garden State also just ended social distancing rules and the indoor mask mandate in public spaces.
"If you got vaccinated and you did the right thing and you know, I mean if the science says as we can lift up the masks then we should be able to do that," said Ocean City visitor Fabiana Mesiano.
"The world's coming back to normal," one visitor said.
Now many families are looking forward to a great summer, like Suzanne Manno and her grandchildren.
"I've been coming since I was a little child myself," she said.
"If the weather is great, it seems everybody wants to come back to the Jersey Shore, especially Ocean City," Gillian said.
If you're looking for something to do inside this weekend down the shore, a new arcade opened inside the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City.
Here in Ventnor, a beautiful new movie theater just opened last week after two years of delays.
