Retailers can open June 15 and salons can open June 22
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
Gov. Phil Murphy continues to slowly reopen the New Jersey economy. That means another two weeks of waiting – at minimum.
On Monday, June 1, the governor said non-essential retail businesses can start having limited patrons in their stores starting Monday, June 15. A few weeks ago, the governor allowed the retailers to be open, but only with curbside pickup.
Also on June 15, restaurants can start serving customers at outdoor seating, but not indoors.
The following Monday, on June 22, the state will allow limited hair salon and barbershop reopening and soon after that, gyms and health clubs can reopen at reduced capacity.
All of that is part of getting into phase two of the state’s four-phase plan, but it still means small businesses will have to wait another two weeks to let customers into the stores, restaurants still can’t have patrons dining indoors and it will be three weeks before haircuts are allowed.
No specific time was given for gyms and health clubs reopening.
The governor pointed out how the state has taken “small and meaningful steps” over recent weeks to allow small retailers to do curbside pickup, for child care centers to prepare for reopening, to plan for organized sports and camps, and for beaches and boardwalks to reopen.
“We’ve been able to do this because we stayed true to our guiding principles – public health creates economic health and data creates dates,” he said, repeating his mantra on the timeline of reopening. He said that while some said the state is acting too quickly and others that it is acting too slowly, “I believe we’re acting responsibly.”
“We have lost nearly 12,000 fellow residents because of COVID-19 and know more will succumb,” he said, pointing out as the state reopens there will be a greater transmission of the virus. There is now robust testing in place to quickly identify outbreaks, but because there is no cure, vaccine or proven therapeutic, the main thing people can do is act responsibly by practicing safe hygiene, wearing face masks and social distancing.
The economic restart will fail, he said, if the state is unable to assure both businesses and their customers they can be confident safety is the top priority.
He added a “new principle to guide us as we move forward: common sense for the common good. That is another way of saying, don’t be a knucklehead. When each of us is responsible, all of us do better.”
“We want our economy back up and running,” the governor added, with people going back to their downtowns and Main Streets, “but we won’t do that with a reckless disregard for safety.”
Just because the calendar says June 15, he added, doesn’t mean it is back to business as usual. He said it was time to use common sense about hygiene, masks and distancing, and that high-risk individuals and communities will be asked to take extra precautions and to stay home whenever possible.
Murphy said New Jersey now leads the U.S. in daily tests per 100,000 population and that it has more than tripled from 6,000 a day at the end of March to 12,000 daily at the end of April and 20,000 at the end of May.
Other health numbers are promising, including much lower stress on the health care system with more acute care and ICU beds available and ventilators free.
Over the weekend, the governor announced other activities that would be allowed to resume in New Jersey, including child care, youth day camps, organized sports and horse racing, without spectators.
– On Monday, June 15, child care centers and related facilities are allowed to reopen operations for all clients, following all COVID-19 child care standards.
– Youth day camps, including municipal summer recreational programs, will be allowed to operate beginning Monday, July 6. However, residential and overnight camps are prohibited from operating.
– Organized sports activities are allowed in outdoor settings only effect June 22. They may not allow person-to-person contact or allow individuals within 6 feet of each other.
– High school sporting activities can resume no earlier than June 30, under protocols issued by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.
The NJSIAA announced last week it was creating the COVID-19 Sports Advisory Task Force comprised of athletic directors from across the state “who will consider a wide range of sports-specific proposals and recommendations with a focus on implementing, executing and enforcing potential modifications.” That task force will communicate with the NJSIAA’s COVID-19 Medical Advisory Task Force, also recently created, to make recommendations on “guidelines to manage the safe return of high school sports in New Jersey.”