Despite some state parks reaching capacity after they opened this Saturday for the first time in weeks, Gov. Phil Murphy assured that compliance with face coverings and social distancing had been “so far, so good.”
Still, Murphy cautioned he could easily reverse course and shut down golf courses and state and county parks again if compliance was not piecemeal enough, and if the state saw a rebound in the number of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and fatalities.
The order went into effect on the morning of May 2, as the number of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths trend down, and hospitals – according to State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli – transition from “crisis mode to normal mode.”
It allows for state parks and golf courses to reopen with reduced capacity and a mandate for social distancing, requiring people maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet from each other.
County parks can also reopen, under the order, but they must follow the same rules as state parks.
Gov. Phil Murphy updates the daily confirmed positive COVID-19 case during his May 2, 2020, press conference at the War Memorial in Trenton, on the state’s response to the pandemic. – THOMAS COSTELLO, GANNETT
“If we hear minimal reports of knucklehead behavior at our parks, then we know you all have taken to heart your responsibility to help us mitigate this pandemic,” Murphy said Saturday at his daily COVID-19 press briefing.
Parking capacity at state and reopened county parks is capped at 50 percent, while playgrounds, pavilions, visitor centers and restrooms remain closed. Organized activities such as picnics and team sports are be prohibited, and face-coverings are strongly recommended.
Golf courses have to prohibit the use of caddies, close down common areas like lounges and shops, discontinue equipment and club rentals, and enforce the use of face coverings.
“If we hear reports of people not taking their health – or the health of other park-goers – seriously, I will not hesitate to close them yet again,” Murphy said. “If those reports are followed by spikes in the numbers of new cases and increases in the spread of COVID-19 over the next two weeks, then that action would be justified.”
Eight state parks reached max capacity over the weekend, according to the State Park Service:
- Barnegat Lighthouse State Park
- Bulls Island Recreation Area
- Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park
- Hacklebarney State Park
- Round Valley Recreation Area
- Wharton State Forest
- Wawayanda State Park
- Worthington State Forest
On Monday, Murphy and New Jersey State Police Superintendent Col. Patrick Callahan said they were largely satisfied with the weekend’s social distancing compliance. But, according to Murphy, between 80 and 90 percent of park attendees were not wearing masks – something that would have to be addressed.
New Jersey State Police Superintendent Col. Pat Callahan as Gov. Phil Murphy’s May 2, 2020, press conference wraps up at the War Memorial in Trenton on the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. – THOMAS COSTELLO, GANNETT
“We heard very few incidents of knucklehead behavior that would require us to reverse course and close them again,” Murphy said.
Many of the state’s beaches – all locally owned except for Island Beach State Park and Sandy Hook – relaxed some of their restrictions and shore towns turn saw upticks in traffic, according to Callahan.
“Just overwhelming compliance with what everybody knows were two gorgeous days,” he said, though “recreational boating was kind of through the roof.”
Individual towns cannot restrict their beaches for just residents, but Murphy indicated that his office would likely put out guidelines for how towns can reopen beaches during the pandemic.
Whether social distancing guidelines are adhered to, and whether loosening the restrictions on parks and golf courses leads to an uptick in new cases, could offer a window into how quickly or slowly the state’s near-total lockdown can be relaxed.
Those restrictions include a ban on public gatherings and non-essential travel, and the closure of “non-essential” retail, such as bars and dine-in restaurants, movie theaters, casinos, gyms and salons.
While there is no timeline, Murphy on April 27 unveiled a six-step guideline for what the state’s health care landscape and the COVID-19 outbreak need to look like in before the administration begins to relax its near-total lockdown in a “number of weeks, not months.”
The state would need to see a 14-day drop in the number of new cases and hospitalizations – a trend which has slowly emerged as new cases decline day over day and, according to Persichilli, the state’s 71 hospitals move away from their April 14 peak.
The state would also need to be able to double the amount of tests it offers, have a way to track down and isolate positive and likely cases to prevent new outbreaks, have a roadmap in place for how to restart the state’s economy, and put in place infrastructure to ride out a widely expected second wave of the outbreak.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 7:52 a.m. EST on May 5, 2020 to include additional comments from Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey State Police Superintendent Col. Patrick Callahan.
