TRENTON, N.J. – Face masks will be required outside under an order expected to be signed Wednesday by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, he said.
The announcement of the expected new mandate comes just a couple days after Murphy said there should be a national requirement for facial coverings “certainly when you're going out." When pressed repeatedly by reporters Monday, he said his office was "looking at outside masking as we speak."
In a Wednesday morning appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Murphy said masks, which have been required indoors since April, are "game changers."
"They've been strongly recommended outdoors. We're going to turn that up a notch today," he said.
"If you can't socially distance," he added, "it's going to be required."
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Murphy: New Jersey 'can't go through that hell again'
He had been reticent since the state's first reported COVID-19 case in March to require face mask because it's difficult to enforce. Acknowledging it is still "harder to enforce," he said he decided to issue the requirement because of virus "hot spots" in other areas of the country, adding that New Jersey, which saw its peak in April, "can't go through that hell again."
Face masks won't be required for people by themselves or with family. But his order will apply to people "congregating with a lot of other folks" and cannot socially distance.
"You could at least get a warning" for not complying with the order, he said, "if not something stronger."
New Jersey is the latest state to require facial coverings outdoors, but others — such as Delaware, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, which are part of a regional coalition with New Jersey to align policies in the pandemic — have had that policy for months.
Murphy said he also plans to issue an executive order intended to help some restaurants that were negatively affected by his abrupt decision last week to postpone plans to reopen limited indoor dining. It would allow restaurants with the ability to open 50% percent of their wall space on two sides to reopen for dining.
"So if you can open up your your walls or your doors to the outside, you've got an overhang," Murphy said, "we're going to allow you to do that from now forward."
Follow reporter Dustin Racioppi on Twitter: @dracioppi
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