More COVID Changes In NJ: What You Can Do Now – And What's Next

NEW JERSEY - Now that more than 2.15 million New Jerseyans are vaccinated - and over 5.3 million doses have been administered in total - regulations around certain areas of life in the state have shifted.

New Jerseyans can now do a lot more amid the COVID outbreak – and many of these changes were made just in the past week (see below).

Gov. Phil Murphy has increased the maximum capacity for large entertainment venues, afforded vaccine eligibility to those over the age of 16 and lifted outdoor gathering limits four-fold.

And here's a pleasant surprise for those who felt something missing whenever they went to Wegman's and Whole Foods: Buffets and salad bars are free to open up in retail establishments and grocery stores. Read more: Salad Bars, Buffets Back On The Menu In NJ—But Not Everywhere

Murphy is expected to address these issues during a 1 p.m. news conference on Wednesday. Read more: WATCH LIVE: Gov. Murphy Issues NJ Coronavirus, Vaccines Update

Retail businesses, such as grocery stores, may permit customers to utilize self-service food, such as buffets and salad bars.

The caveat, in the administrative order signed by Col. Pat Callahan of State Police in his capacity as Emergency Management Coordinator, is that retail businesses must limit self-service food and drink stations to those that can be routinely cleaned and disinfected.

But while these self-service food stations are once again allowed at supermarkets, convenience stores and bodegas, they are still prohibited at restaurants and casinos.

"As our vaccination effort expands rapidly across the state and our entire adult population becomes eligible, it is now possible to take further incremental steps towards a return to normalcy," Murphy said in a press release.

Murphy is also allowing more people to attend youth sporting events (see list of changes below).

Murphy, however, signaled that he's not ready to make any additional changes in the coming days, saying that New Jersey's still-too-high case rate will prevent the Garden State from taking the same path as California, which plans a full reopening in June. Read more: NJ In New CDC Coronavirus Hot Zone: 2nd Highest Case Rate In U.S.

"The current capacities are anomalous with the realities that we have, but we're constantly thinking," he said e. "When I say don't expect anything meaningful soon, that's previewing our thinking ... as long as we're in the thick of this right now."

Murphy believes the spread of the COVID-19 variants has kept the state's cases high, even though New Jersey just had two days in a row with fewer than 3,000 new cases for the first time in months.

It's not clear how many variant cases are in New Jersey, though Murphy has said in recent weeks that there are at least 900.

Once the variants are under control, Murphy said, the state will likely "be more liberal" with capacities.

"I'll bet you we're not going to be turning our back on face coverings by Memorial Day, indoors at least. I don't see that," Murphy said. "I just don't see it. My guess is we're still going to be preaching the basics: face coverings, social distancing, wash your hands with soap and water, take yourself off the field if you either don't feel well or you've been exposed, get tested at the right point."

Still, despite the case totals, the state made some changes this month as it's significantly increased vaccination rates, with Murphy announcing more than 25 percent of the population now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

More New Jerseyans are eligible than ever before, with eligibility now offered to those 16 and older as of April 19. The announcement came as the state expanded its list to people 55 and up, in addition to several other groups such as educators, sanitation workers and librarians.

Many other sites – particularly those at Rite Aid and CVS – are now available for vaccines. Read more: Nearly 400 NJ Rite Aids, CVS, Walmarts Now Offer COVID-19 Vaccine

The sites remain open even though New Jersey has paused the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of reports of women getting blood clots after immunization. Read more: NJ Pauses Johnson & Johnson COVID Vaccine

The state also unveiled a COVID-19 vaccine appointment tracker this month to facilitate the appointment finding and booking process.

“As our vaccination effort expands rapidly across the state and our entire adult population becomes eligible, it is now possible to take further incremental steps towards a return to normalcy,” Murphy said. “Clarifying gathering limits to allow more spectators at sports activities and allowing the return of self-service foods are two small steps of what we hope are many more measures we can take as millions of New Jerseyans are vaccinated.”

Here are some of the aspects of New Jersey life that have reopened (under certain restrictions) or remain off-limits - and what is expected to come next:

Outdoor gatherings and sports

Those wanting to gather outdoors and enjoy the spring weather in New Jersey now have more flexibility as Murphy increased the general outdoor gathering limit to 200 individuals.

The previous limit was 50, a measure made to help contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Religious services, weddings, funerals, memorial services and political activities remain uncapped in outdoor settings, Murphy said.

"The reason we are increasing the outdoor limit is that as the weather gets warmer, we are urging everyone to engage in social activities outside whenever possible," Murphy said. "We know this virus is many times more transmissible indoors … than it is outdoors. Any type of larger gathering is safer for everyone if it can be held outside."

The threshold for entertainment venues to be considered a "large venue" was also lowered in April from 5,000 to 2,500. At those large venues, the capacity for indoor seating increased from 10 percent to 20 percent for indoor venues and from 15 percent to 30 percent for outdoor venues.

All public health protocols will still be mandatory, including face mask-wearing.

"If it's a 5,000 seat capacity, they're now able to get 1,000 people into those seats," the governor said. "Based on discussions with our large venues we know that at 20 percent capacity, our venues can still ensure that all groups remain 6 feet apart in all directions. This means we can safely take this step and welcome more fans into our arenas."

The governor also clarified in an April 7 executive order that gathering limits for non-professional and non-collegiate indoor sports activities do not count coaches, athletes or up to two parents and guardians at a practice per participating athlete under the age of 21.

Travel

According to Murphy, "fully vaccinated" Garden State residents who travel domestically in the U.S. aren't required to self-quarantine after their trip, or get a COVID-19 test before or afterward – a significant shift from recent state recommendations.

Regarding international travel, a negative test result or proof of recovery is required for all travelers entering the United States following air travel. All travelers should then self-monitor for symptoms during and after travel and self-isolate if symptoms should develop.

An individual is considered fully vaccinated two weeks or more after receipt of the second dose in a two-dose series or two weeks or more after receipt of a single-dose vaccine.

Unvaccinated travelers and residents returning from any U.S. state or territory beyond the New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Delaware region should self-quarantine at their home, hotel, or other temporary lodging following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for unvaccinated people.

The shift follows updated travel recommendations released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this month.

"While the pandemic is not over, our vaccination program and updated CDC guidance have made it possible for vaccinated individuals to resume travel without quarantine," said Murphy. "New Jersey residents should still exercise caution in traveling and follow all public health rules and regulations as the end of the pandemic comes into view."

Schools

Murphy has said that New Jersey should expect all schools to reopen in the fall as COVID-19 vaccine availability continues to expand, with teachers and perhaps even children getting the opportunity to be immunized.

And he indicated this week that New Jersey is strongly moving forward in this direction now that a much smaller group of school districts are fully remote. Read more: NJ: 'Unmistakable Movement' To Get Kids Back Into Classrooms

K-12 educators, child care workers and support staff became eligible for the vaccine on March 15. Read more: Coronavirus Vaccine Availability To Expand To NJ Teachers

More schools are opening now that students can be three feet apart. Read more: Social Distance For Many NJ School Students Changes To 3 Feet

"I think there are fairly straightforward answers to this. We would fully expect, assuming things go the direction they're going, that we will be in-person for school in September,” Murphy said last month.

"I think we will get there, and we are getting there at a minimum in a hybrid format," he said. "But I hope even more full in-person, assuming we can do it safely and responsibly."

Indoor dining

Restaurants, cafeterias, food courts, recreation facilities, amusement centers, personal care services (barber shops, nail salons, and other personal care businesses) and entertainment businesses (including casinos, movie theaters and gyms) are currently operating at 50 percent capacity, excluding employees. Banquet halls can host private events at 35 percent of the room capacity or 150 persons.

The general indoor gathering limit has remained at 25 people since March.

Retail businesses such as grocery stores may also permit customers to use self-service food such as buffets and salad bars. Businesses should limit self-service food and drink stations to those that can be routinely cleaned and disinfected.

For entertainment centers where performances are given such as movie theaters, performing arts centers, and other concert venues that are not considered "large venues", the indoor limit is capped at 35 percent of the maximum capacity. The limit must never be larger than 150 people, excluding the entertainment center's staff.

Seating will still not be allowed in bars, Murphy has said.

"Indoor dining and gyms and indoor entertainment are still at 50 percent [capacity] and I suspect they'll stay there," Murphy said. "We did raise it on large venues because those venues are proving explicitly, I'll give the Prudential Center a shoutout, where a lot of this is taking place, if you look at indoor large venues in the state right now. They're doing an exceptional job. Going to 20 percent does not anywhere come close to people needing to be within six feet of each other."

With reporting by Tom Davis and Eric Kiefer.

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