New Jersey Administrative Code › Title - EXECUTIVE ORDERS › Title 55 - CHRIS CHRISTIE › Section - Executive Order No. 148 (2020)

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
Governor Philip D. Murphy
Executive Order No. 148 (2020)
An Order Increasing Capacity on Outdoor Gatherings
Issued: May 22, 2020.
Effective: May 22, 2020.
WHEREAS, in light of the dangers posed by Coronavirus disease 2019 ("COVID-19"), I issued Executive Order No. 103 on March 9, 2020, the facts and circumstances of which are adopted by reference herein, which declared both a Public Health Emergency and State of Emergency; and
WHEREAS, through Executive Order Nos. 119 and 138 (2020), issued on April 7, 2020, and May 6, 2020, respectively, the facts and circumstances of which are adopted by reference herein, I declared that the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency continued to exist and declared that all Executive Orders and Administrative Orders adopted in whole or in part in response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency remained in full force and effect; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with N.J.S.A. App. A:9-34 and -51, I reserve the right to utilize and employ all available resources of State government to protect against the emergency created by COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, as COVID-19 continued to spread across New Jersey and an increasing number of individuals required medical care or hospitalization, I issued a series of Executive Orders pursuant to my authority under the New Jersey Civilian Defense and Disaster Control Act and the Emergency Health Powers Act, to protect the public health, safety, and welfare against the emergency created by COVID-19, including Executive Order Nos. 104-133, Nos. 135-138, and Nos. 140-147 (2020), the facts and circumstances of which are all adopted by reference herein; and
WHEREAS, among these actions, and in recognition that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC") has advised that social mitigation strategies for combatting COVID-19 require every effort to reduce the rate of community spread of the disease and that COVID-19 spreads most frequently through person-to-person contact when individuals are within six feet or less of one another, I issued Executive Order No. 107 (2020) to order steps to mitigate community spread of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, to further limit community spread from person-to-person contact through use of social mitigation measures, Executive Order No. 107 (2020) required, with limited exceptions, New Jersey residents to remain in their place of residence, cancelled all gatherings, and closed all recreational and entertainment businesses; and
WHEREAS, as the rate of reported new cases of COVID-19 in New Jersey decreases, including a reduction in the total number of individuals being admitted to hospitals for COVID-19, the State can begin to take certain steps to lift certain restrictions that were designed to limit person-to-person contact; and
WHEREAS, even as the rate of reported new cases of COVID-19 decreases, the ongoing risks presented by COVID-19 mean that a considerable number of the State's current measures must remain in place, both to reduce additional new infections and to save lives, until additional metrics--such as expanded testing and use of contact tracing--have been satisfied; and
WHEREAS, after consultation with officials from the Department of Health ("DOH"), I announced a multistage New Jersey's Road Back Plan for the methodical and strategic reopening of businesses and activities based on scientific data and metrics concerning the level of disease transmission risk and essential classification; and
WHEREAS, the State is in the first stage of the reopening process and has begun to relax restrictions on low-risk activities where appropriately safeguarded, including the resumption of certain work activities at physical locations that can meet safeguarding and modification guidelines, as well as certain outdoor activities; and
WHEREAS, consistent with this Plan, I have issued a number of Executive Orders, including Executive Order Nos. 133, 142, 143, 146 and 147, which lifted closures and/or prohibitions of parks, beaches, lakefronts, and several outdoor recreational facilities and activities, with social distancing, cleaning, sanitizing, and hygiene practices in place, given repeated observations from public health experts, including but not limited to the CDC, that outdoor environments present reduced risks of COVID-19 transmission as compared to indoor environments; and
WHEREAS, the CDC has issued guidance for mass gatherings or large community events, such as conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings, and other potentially super-spreading events, recognizing that such gatherings significantly contribute to the spread of COVID-19 and introduce the virus to new communities through increased [page=1246] transmission to a large number of people in a short period of time, and states throughout the region have canceled such events; and
WHEREAS, because public health experts have identified that outdoor environments present reduced risks of transmission as compared to indoor environments, it is appropriate to also adjust restrictions relative to gatherings that happen outdoors, meaning that certain gatherings in open-air spaces outdoors can be allowed while still maintaining reasonable restrictions to help limit the spread and prevent future outbreaks of COVID-19 and protect the health, safety, and welfare of New Jersey residents; and
WHEREAS, maintaining the overall social distancing and mitigation requirements in place while gathering in open-air outdoor spaces, particularly by maintaining a six-foot distance from other individuals, is imperative to continuing to reduce the ongoing risk of community spread of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, as public health experts have observed, the higher the number of people an individual interacts with at a gathering contribute to a greater risk of COVID-19 spread, and so large in-person gatherings where it is difficult for individuals to remain spaced six feet apart or more pose an increased risk, which also means that outdoor activities should be prioritized where social distancing can be maintained as much as possible; and
WHEREAS, in order to reduce the continued risk of widespread transmission of COVID-19 at large gatherings, a number of other states that have begun to relax restrictions on gatherings of 10 people or more have imposed a limit on outdoor gatherings up to 25 people, including Pennsylvania, even as states still maintain more stringent requirements for gatherings indoors; and
WHEREAS, it is likewise appropriate to limit outdoor gatherings in our State to no more than 25 people to prevent increased transmission through super-spreading events and large community gatherings; and
WHEREAS, even as the State allows outdoor gatherings in open-air spaces and recreational campgrounds, due to the ongoing risk of community spread of COVID-19, the extensive interactions that occur at gatherings in indoor places and certain indoor retail, recreational, and entertainment operations continue to present a significant risk, and so the prohibition of indoor gatherings of more than 10 individuals, and the restrictions on the indoor operations of certain retail, recreational, and entertainment businesses, have not been lifted at this time; and
WHEREAS, the State's restrictions on gatherings are tailored to the harms they present, regardless of the purpose of any such gathering, meaning that indoor in-person gatherings are limited to 10 persons, outdoor in-person gatherings are limited to 25 persons so long as all persons remain six feet apart at all times, and any number of individuals may participate in a gathering where all participants remain in their vehicles, given the relative risks of COVID-19 transmission presented by each scenario; and
WHEREAS, recreational campgrounds in the State provide popular outdoor lodging and recreation options during the summer months that allow for limited person-to-person contact and involve appropriate social distancing measures, and thus can also resume consistent with the State's framework on outdoor recreation and the relative risks of COVID-19 transmission; and
WHEREAS, the Constitution and statutes of the State of New Jersey, particularly the provisions of N.J.S.A. 26:13-1et seq., N.J.S.A. App. A: 9-33 et seq., N.J.S.A. 38A:3-6.1, and N.J.S.A. 38A:2-4 and all amendments and supplements thereto, confer upon the Governor of the State of New Jersey certain emergency powers, which I have invoked;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, PHILIP D. MURPHY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:
1. Any gathering that adheres to all of the following rules does not violate Paragraph 5 of Executive Order No. 107 (2020):
a. The gathering takes place outdoors, whether on public or private property, and all attendees remain outdoors at all times during the gathering, with the sole exception of restroom use;
b. Open-air rain tarps, tents, and other outdoor structures shall be allowed solely for the purpose of protecting against foul weather or for shade;
c. The capacity of the gathering must be limited to no more than 25 people at the same time;
d. All attendees at the gathering are required to be six feet apart from other attendees at all times, excluding immediate family members, caretakers, household members, or romantic partners;
e. There may be no contact between attendees, excluding immediate family members, caretakers, household members, or romantic partners, and no organized or contact sports shall be allowed;
f. All individuals at the gathering should wear face coverings at all times where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, in accordance with CDC recommendations, except where doing so would inhibit the individual's health or where the individual is under two years of age, and they must wear such face coverings where required by another Executive Order;
g. If there are individuals organizing or maintaining the gathering, they should, where applicable, demarcate six feet of spacing in the area of the gathering to demonstrate appropriate spacing for social distancing, such as through the placement of cones, flags, or other markings;
h. If seating is provided, such as chairs or mats, all seating must be limited to single individuals, except for immediate family members, caretakers, household members, or romantic partners, and must be placed six feet apart at all times, and such seating must be sanitized before and after that individual's use in accordance with CDC guidelines;
i. If any physical items, including equipment, are provided, such items may not be shared by anyone except for immediate family members, caretakers, household members, or romantic partners, and such physical items must be sanitized before and after use; and
j. To the degree the gathering requires pre-payment, or seeks donations of any kind, contactless options for pre-payment or donation, such as online or by telephone, must be offered wherever feasible.