Earlier this week Governor Murphy issued Executive Order 238 easing certain restrictions on indoor dining, bar seating, outdoor gatherings, and more. The Governor also announced that, effective May 19, New Jersey will remove COVID-19 capacity restrictions for indoor dining and eliminate all restrictions for outdoor dining as well lifting ban on interstate indoor youth competitions. Governor Murphy stated, “These are the most aggressive steps we have taken to reopen to date, and we feel confident that we can do this safely because our numbers have trended decisively in the right direction over the past three weeks.”
In addition the Governor announced a website for homebound individuals to connect with a vaccine provider; using the mega-sites to move available doses directly to into neighboring community centers and medical offices to make vaccinations more localized and more widely available; and detailed the specifics of the Shot and a Beer Vaccine Incentive program.
COVID Data for May 6, 2021:
- 1,564 new positive cases for a total of 871,333 confirmed cases
- 34 new confirmed deaths for a total of 22,904 confirmed deaths
- The rate of transmission is at 0.42
- 1,157 cases linked to 263 school outbreaks since August 2020
- 7,373,075 vaccine doses have been administered, including 4,362,552 who have received at least one dose and 3,278,405 who are fully vaccinated. 54% are Pfizer, 43% Moderna, and 4% J&J.
Vaccine Information
Homebound residents who have not yet connected with their local health department, or a home health agency, and who need an in-home vaccination should visit www. covid19.nj.gov/HomeboundVax or contact the call center. The Department of Health will follow up with them to assist in connecting them with a vaccine provider.
As a reminder anyone 16 and older living, working, or studying in New Jersey is eligible for COVID-19 vaccines. The State hotline, 855-568-0545, continues to assist residents, with live agents from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., in getting information on how to register, as well as how to schedule vaccine appointments as people become eligible. The agents remind residents that there is no out-of-pocket expense to get vaccinated and that the two vaccines are not interchangeable.
All six of New Jersey’s COVID-19 vaccine mega-sites are now offering walk-in vaccinations. A person does not need an appointment to get vaccinated nor do they need to be a resident of a specific county to get vaccinated at the mega-sites.
As previously reported, New Jersey has launched a COVID-19 vaccine appointment finder to assist in scheduling an appointment.
Executive Orders
Executive Order 238: Easing of restrictions, including a removal of all percentage capacity limits for indoor and outdoor businesses, a lifting of the prohibition on indoor bar seating, and an end to the outdoor gathering limit effective today.
Shot and a Beer Vaccine Incentive Program
In partnership with the Brewer's Guild of New Jersey, the State has launched the "Shot and a Beer" program to encourage eligible residents 21 and older to get vaccinated. Any resident who gets their first vaccine dose in the month of May and takes their vaccination card to a participating brewery as proof of vaccination will receive a free beer, courtesy of the participating brewery. This program will end on May 31, 2021.
Your Voice Your Shot Video Contest
As a reminder, the “Your Voice, Your Shot” video contest, which urges New Jersey residents to share why they and others are getting vaccinated, deadline is May 11, 2021.
Unemployment Information
The Department of Labor announced for the week ending April 30 the initial weekly unemployment claims was 14,073. As a reminder, the American Rescue Plan extends Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, which is the $300 supplement, to eligible claimants for 25 weeks, through September 4.
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