TRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy announced yesterday that he is decreasing the indoor gathering capacity limit in response to the increase of COVID-19 cases in New Jersey. Indoor gatherings are now limited to 25% of a room's capacity, but regardless of the room’s capacity, the maximum limit shall be 25 persons, down from 100 persons. For purposes of determining this limit, any private residence or residential unit shall be treated as a single room. However, today’s change will not be applicable to the following events: weddings, funerals, memorial services, religious services or celebrations, and political activities. These events may continue under the previous rules that limited these events to 25% of a room's capacity, but with a limit of 100 persons.

“In order to protect public health, we are retightening the restriction on indoor gatherings due to uptick of COVID-19 cases in New Jersey,” said Governor Murphy. “We cannot stress enough that large and crowded indoor gatherings, where social distancing isn’t being practiced and face masks aren’t being worn, are not safe. Until there is a significant decrease of COVID-19 cases, these restrictions will continue to be in place.” The Executive Order takes effect at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 4.

Governor Murphy today advised individuals traveling to New Jersey from additional states with significant community spread of COVID-19 to quarantine for a 14-day period from the time of last contact within the identified state. The updated advisory includes the addition of Rhode Island, with both the District of Columbia and Delaware removed from the list, bringing the total to 35 states and territories. The travel advisory applies to any person arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents or a state with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.

As of Tuesday, August 4, there are currently 35 states and territories that meet the criteria stated above: Alaska; Alabama; Arkansas; Arizona; California; Florida; Georgia; Illinois, Iowa; Idaho; Indiana; Kansas; Kentucky, Louisiana; Maryland; Minnesota, Missouri; Mississippi; Montana; North Carolina; North Dakota; Nebraska; New Mexico; Nevada; Ohio; Oklahoma; Puerto Rico, Rhode Island; South Carolina; Tennessee; Texas; Utah; Virginia; Washington; and Wisconsin.

“As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to climb around the country, we must remain vigilant in our efforts to slow the spread of transmission,” said Governor Murphy. “Our state’s restart and recovery process is dependent upon the commitment and collective effort of every New Jerseyan and visitor to our state. Individuals traveling from these states must remain vigilant by proactively getting a COVID-19 test and self-quarantining to prevent additional COVID-19 transmission from spreading throughout New Jersey.”

Travelers and those residents who are returning from impacted states should self-quarantine at their home, hotel, or other temporary lodging. Individuals should leave the place of self-quarantine only to seek medical care/treatment or to obtain food and other essential items.

It is expected that individuals will follow the public health advisory to self-quarantine. The list of states will be updated on a rolling basis and is accessible here.

We will continue to update you on new developments. Please visit our COVID-19 Resource Page for more alerts.

Feel free to contact any member of our team at (610) 828-1900 (PA) or (732) 341-3893 (NJ) with questions. You can contact me at Richard.Higgins@MCC-CPAs.com and Marty at Marty.McCarthy@MCC-CPAs.com. As always, we are happy to help.

Sources: The New York Times and The Washington Post. July 23, 2020.