Loans will be capped at $100,000 per company and last 10 years with a 0% interest rate and deferred payments for the first two years. NJEDA officials expect the loan pre-registration period to open in July.

The Franklin Lakes-based company is now supplying more than 40 countries for pandemic administration campaigns.

“Let’s not kid ourselves. The public health emergency is over. The pandemic is not,” the governor said during his COVID-19 briefing on June 7 in Trenton

“[N]ow is the right time to take this action, particularly as the final limits on gatherings are lifted tomorrow,” reads a joint statement issued on June 3 by Murphy, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Senate President Stephen Sweeney shortly after the bill was approved by the full state Legislature.

The state is rolling back one of its final rounds of pandemic restrictions, as the spread of the virus plummets and more than 4.1 million people are fully vaccinated.

"[N]ow is the right time to take this action, particularly as the final limits on gatherings are lifted ... " reads a joint statement issued by the governor, Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin. "With passage of this bill today and its signing tomorrow, followed by the governor's signing of an executive order terminating the Public Health Emergency, we will move closer to normal than at any time since March 2020."

The closures mark a shift toward hyperlocal deployment of vaccination efforts, as the state attempts to inoculate hundreds of thousands of vaccine-hesitant New Jerseyans. More than 2 million people have gotten their shots at one of the six mega-centers.

Between the start of Memorial Day weekend through June 4, most of New Jersey’s COVID-19 business restrictions were rolled back for vaccinated people, allowing an almost complete return to pre-pandemic operations. The move was hailed by business groups, who contend that the rules constituted a drag on the state’s economy. But public health experts remain cautious about whether the state is ready to fully celebrate.

The extension comes just ahead of Memorial Day weekend and in response to an uptick in inquiries from regions where gathering bans are being lifted.

The new rules follow an honor system - fully vaccinated patrons do not have to wear a mask while indoors, but those without the vaccine still must wear them.

Gov. Phil Murphy and several top state lawmakers announced their intention to approve this latest stimulus round as companies embark on reopenings coming out of 15 months of pandemic closures and restrictions.

“We encourage all employers to do the right things for their specific workplaces,” the governor said. “While we are rescinding some requirements, that doesn’t mean we don’t expect you to be flexible and to work with employees — particularly those who are juggling family obligations such as child care.”