Is NJ COVID Reopening Too Fast Or Not Enough? Take The Patch Poll

NEW JERSEY — With more than 2.4 million New Jersey residents having been fully vaccinated, the light at the end of the tunnel — the last days of the coronavirus pandemic — is closer to becoming reality.

And yet the full reopening of New Jersey is elusive, with Gov. Phil Murphy saying New Jersey's public mask mandate will most likely be in effect through Memorial Day to try to keep cases down.

For now, the state remains at Stage 3 with masks and social distancing being enforced. Indoor capacity limits for restaurants, cafeterias and food courts remain at 50 percent, excluding employees. Read more: More COVID Changes In NJ: What You Can Do Now – And What's Next

In order for New Jersey to move into the last stage of the state's reopening plan, called "New Normal," New Jersey would need to have widespread distribution of a vaccine or treatment, Murphy said.

The state's goal is to have 4.7 million residents fully vaccinated by the end of June. New Jersey is more than 50 percent of meeting that goal.

However, looking at the New Jersey Department of Health's predictive pandemic model, the number of cases, hospitalizations, ICU and ventilators would likely peak at the end of April or early May. Read More: NJ COVID Wave To Peak In Spring, Gov. Murphy Says: What To Expect

A big leap is coming for coronavirus vaccination efforts in New Jersey as Murphy said the state will be opening its vaccination list to people 16 and older starting on Monday, April 19. Read More: COVID Vaccines Will Expand To NJ Residents 16 And Older

Which begs the question:

Is the state opening too fast, or not fast enough? Patch wants to know. Take our survey here:

Note: The survey is not meant to be a scientific poll, with random sampling and margins of error, but is meant only to gauge the sentiments of our readers in an informal way.

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