New Jersey families hoping to visit the beach to kick off their summer may be in luck.
Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said he would be “shocked” if beaches were not open by Memorial Day. In an interview with NJTV, Murphy said the state was finalizing guidance to ensure that the beaches could be open as long as social distancing guidelines were maintained.
“I will be shocked if our beaches are not open, but with very specific guidance, just as we opened county and state parks,” Murphy said. “You should expect we’ll give guidance on beaches before Memorial Day.”
Local governments have the authority to decide whether beaches in their municipality are opened right now under New Jersey’s stay-at-home order. Murphy can overrule the local governments to open or close beaches and to implement social distancing policies.
Murphy has been slowly lifting parts of his stay-at-home order, including the reopening of golf courses and parks this week.
“Don’t be a knucklehead, stay away from each other, don’t congregate,” Murphy said.
New Jersey has the second-largest coronavirus outbreak in the United States. As of Thursday, the state had 133,991 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 8,807 related deaths.
