Grab your towel, trunks — and a face mask.
New Jersey’s beaches will be re-opened in time for Memorial Day — albeit with some restrictions, Garden State Gov. Phil Murphy announced Thursday.
“The Jersey Shore will be open in time for Memorial Day weekend, with social distancing guidelines in place,” Murphy said on Twitter. “The Shore is central to our Jersey identity and we want to ensure that families can safely enjoy it this summer.”
Murphy said the decision comes as the state’s coronavirus hospitalization and death rates continue to decline.
“We want everyone to have fun but we need everyone to be safe,” Murphy said Thursday, WKXW Radio reported. “We are living through unprecedented times but we have confidence that residents and out-of-state visitors alike can take in a day at the beach safely so long as the safety measures we are announcing today… are followed.”
Murphy on Thursday issued guidance to officials in shore towns on how to reopen their beaches — including setting unspecified occupancy limits, requiring six feet of space between beachgoers, and prohibiting groups of 10 or more from congregating in the sand.
Face coverings will not be required while sunning in the sand but must be worn “while waiting in line for a slice of boardwalk pizza,” Murphy said.
Restrooms, changing rooms and showers will be open, but visitors centers will not — while boardwalk food vendors will only be open for takeout service.
And fireworks, concerts and festivals will not be allowed in an effort to prevent large gatherings, Murphy said.
This Friday, Point Pleasant Beach and Seaside Heights will both start allowing people back onto the sand.
Point Pleasant will cap visitors at 500 people, while Seaside Heights — famed as the former home of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” — will only allow walking, jogging, surf fishing and surfing, but no swimming, sitting or standing.
With Post wires




