New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy today announced the lifting of statewide COVID-19 restrictions against indoor dining, bar services and indoor/outdoor gatherings, but said he’ll be watching closely for compliance violations.
“Will things be enforced?” Murphy said. “You betch’ya.”
Murphy said while indoor bar seating is allowed, he and State Police Colonel Patrick Callahan will be making sure people are socially distanced at those bars. Murphy has been authorizing the state’s Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control to perform county sweeps in recent months to ensure compliance.
In those sweeps, ABC investigators have cited dozens of businesses for indoor capacity violations and social distancing violations. Those sweeps are expected to continue as the capacity limits are lifted on May 19th.
“We don’t want people standing around on top of each other,” Murphy said.