Gov. Phil Murphy says it’s “too early to tell” whether Jersey Shore beaches will be open for Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer.
Murphy told “Fox News Sunday” that early reports on the reopening of state and county parks this weekend indicated “compliance was very high in social distancing” — although the State Park Service said eight parks were “overrun” on Saturday, and park officials had to urge some visitors to go elsewhere.
Island Beach State Park in Ocean County drew hundreds of people to the sand on Saturday, according to NBC10.
“As we push these curves down and folks continue to comply and keep social distancing, that’s the best weapon we’ve got to get the best outcome by the time we do get to Memorial Day,” the governor said.
Ocean City has said it hopes to partially reopen businesses in time for the holiday weekend. Leaders in Atlantic and Cape May counties said they are working on a regional proposal for the Jersey Shore.
New Jersey continues to have the second highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the U.S. behind New York. While Murphy noted that hospitalizations and ventilator use are down in the state, there is still a long way to go before New Jersey is ready to reopen, and it will continue to coordinate with neighboring Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York. Murphy has outlined his approach to reopening, but has not yet set a firm date.
“As much as I want to open things back up tomorrow, we’re not there yet and we’ve got to make these calls, particularly given our density, based on facts,” Murphy said.