N.J. Caps Outdoor Crowds at 25, Halts Indoor School Sports
N.J. Governor Murphy to Slash Outdoor Gathering Limits
(Bloomberg) -- New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is toughening the limit on outdoor gatherings to 25 people from 150, and halting indoor high school and adult sports until at least Jan. 2.
Murphy announced the new restrictions Monday during a news briefing. The order doesn’t apply to religious and political gatherings and wedding ceremonies. College and professional teams are exempted from the sports limits.
The state reported 3,199 new cases and 15 new deaths. It had a positivity rate of 11.34% on Thursday. Of those residents speaking to contact tracers as of two weeks ago, 69% refused to provide information about those with whom they’d been in touch.
The state has reported more than 90,000 new Covid-19 cases in the past month -- 28,000 in the past week alone --- amid a second surge of infections. During October, it added about 33,000 cases. Hospitalizations have climbed to almost 3,000 from about 500 at the beginning of October.
The state was one of the earliest in the U.S. to have an outbreak. Murphy put residents and businesses under lockdown in mid-March to quell the spread. The state’s reopening began slowly in May.
The governor, a first-term Democrat, ordered restaurants earlier in November to close indoor dining from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and banned seating at bars. He also put an end to interstate games and tournaments for youth sports.
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