NJ This Week: Biggest COVID Reopen Yet; Will We Take Masks Off?

NEW JERSEY — If you live in the Garden State, expect Wednesday, May 19 to be New Jersey's "most aggressive opening play" yet, in the words of Gov. Phil Murphy.

Wednesday will be a huge day when the 50-percent capacity limits on restaurants, gyms and houses of worship will be lifted, and nearly everything in New Jersey can go back to some semblance of normality.

Full-capacity businesses will almost begin operating the same way life did before the pandemic began. Also, all interstate youth sports competitions can resume.

Except mask-wearing will still be required, even if you've been vaccinated, indoors. You can take masks off outside. Read more: Gov. Murphy: NJ 'Can Do Away' With Masks Outdoors If Vaccinated

The state still says that six-foot social distancing should be maintained in all indoor places, including restaurants and at sporting events.

Murphy is expected to provide more details on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new guidance that people can take masks off both indoors and outdoors, even it conflicts with the state's current rules. He's also expected to address the state's travel advisory.

Here's what's happening on Wednesday:

• Complete removal of all percentage capacity limits for indoor and outdoor businesses. This means restaurants and bars can operate at full, normal capacity, as can all retail shops, gyms, movie theaters, etc.

This would include:

• Indoor dining – Currently, indoor dining is limited to 50 percent capacity. Wednesday will remove the 50 percent rule, but maintain the six feet of required distance between tables, except that tables can be closer than six feet where restaurants use partitions that comply with Department of Health requirements. Additionally, the prohibition on more than eight people at a table will be lifted, so large groups can sit together again.
• Retail businesses, which are currently at 50 percent indoor capacity, can be at full capacity
• Gyms, which are currently at 50 percent indoor capacity, can be at full capacity
• Beauty salons and barber shops, which are currently at 50 percent indoor capacity, can be at full capacity
• Indoor amusement and recreation businesses and outdoor amusement and water parks, which are currently limited to 50 percent capacity, can be at full capacity
• Indoor and outdoor pools, which are both currently limited to 50 percent capacity, can be at full capacity.
• Complete removal of all percentage capacity limits for houses of worship, which were limited to 50 percent: Any house of worship or religious center will have no indoor capacity limits. Expect many churches to resume operation as normal after this, if they haven't already.
• Youth sports: Wednesday will be the removal of all prohibitions on indoor interstate youth sports competitions.
• Indoor large venue capacity — Things like ice hockey games at the Prudential Center or indoor concerts still won't be back to 100 percent capacity, which would mean thousands and thousands of people indoors, very close to each other. On Wednesday, the capacity limit for indoor large venues will increase from 20 percent to 30 percent and the definition of a large venue would shift from those with 2,500 fixed seats to those with 1,000 fixed seats. The requirement that individuals or groups of individuals that purchase tickets together remain six feet apart will remain in place.
• Indoor catered events, funerals, memorial services, performances and political activities: These events are currently limited to 50 percent of a room’s capacity, up to 250 individuals. Beginning Wednesday, the 50-percent rule goes away but the 250-person limit will remain in place. Individuals and groups will need to remain six feet apart.
• Complete removal of outdoor gathering limits.
• Indoor gathering limit: Currently, the state of NJ advises that gatherings indoors in private homes should be capped at 25 people. On Wednesday, that will rise to 50 people. Commercial gatherings such as conferences, expositions, trade shows, job fairs, meetings of fraternal organizations, events hosted by senior centers, etc. will be capped at 250 people, as long as all attendees can remain six feet apart. So large-scale trade shows, conferences and expositions still cannot resume in the state of New Jersey.

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