NJ lifting COVID travel restrictions for those fully vaccinated

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New Jersey is lifting domestic travel restrictions for anyone who has gotten fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. Phil Murphy announced on April 5.

The announcement puts the state in line with travel guidance the federal Centers for Disease Control put in place on April 2 for domestic travel.

According to the CDC, fully vaccinated people – anyone two weeks after their final COVID-19 vaccine dose – are permitted to travel domestically without getting tested before and after their departure. And, they do not need to follow the seven to 10-day day self-quarantine to weed out any potential symptoms.

Fully vaccinated individuals were also greenlighted to gather in groups indoors without wearing masks, the CDC said.

Unvaccinated people should defer travel, or if they do travel then follow those guidelines – testing and seven to 10-day post-travel self-quarantine, according to New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.

International travel is still discouraged so as to avoid worsening the spread of these variants, Persichilli said. The most prevalent variant is the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the United Kingdom.

So far, nearly 1.8 million New Jerseyans have been vaccinated against COVID-19, either through the two-shot Pfizer or Moderna versions, or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson version.

“Two months ago, on Feb. 5, we reported roughly 180,000 fully vaccinated individuals. One month later, on March 5, we reported 789,500. Or, nearly 610,000 in one month,” Murphy said.

The goal is to vaccinate 70% of the eligible population – 4.7 million New Jerseyans – by June as they are a vital component of permanently rolling back restrictions on businesses, travel and public gatherings, which have been in place this past year to keep the spread of the virus at bay.