While we were all looking forward to returning to the pleasures of indoor restaurant dining in New Jersey, it looks likes we will have to wait a little bit longer. On June 29th, Governor Murphy signed Executive Order No. 158, temporarily pausing the resumption of indoor dining, which had been scheduled to resume later this week.
The Order also prohibits the consumption of food or beverages and smoking in the indoor premises of any retail, recreational, or entertainment business, including casinos, where masks are strictly required. The Order notes that there is an exception for health and safety, such as an individual briefly removing their mask to drink water.
“Unfortunately, the spike in cases in numerous other states, compounded by instances of non-compliance in New Jersey, require us to hit pause on the restart of indoor dining indefinitely,” said Governor Murphy.“I recognize that there are many establishments whose owners, managers, and customers have been responsible, but we cannot move forward unless there is complete compliance. Throughout every step of our restart, we have been clear that we would not hesitate to hit pause to safeguard public health, and this is one of those times.”
