TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey restaurants, gyms, salons and other indoor recreational activities can boost their capacity to 50%, up from 35%, Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday.
Murphy, a Democrat, announced the change at a news conference on the COVID-19 outbreak in Trenton. It goes into effect March 19.
The state’s coronavirus figures have been tracking in the right direction, Murphy said, although hospitalizations ticked up slightly this week.
Murphy also said that outdoor gatherings would climb to a 50-person capacity, up from 25. That also takes effect March 19. The 25-person limit didn’t apply to weddings, church services or political events, among a few others.
New Jersey’s seven-day rolling average of new cases rose over the past two weeks from 3,029 on Feb. 22 to 3,322 on Monday.
New Jersey has fully vaccinated about 899,000 people or just over 10% of the population. That’s just slightly higher than the 9.9% national rate.
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