Phil Murphy, Governor of New Jersey, speaks during a news conference in Trenton, New Jersey, U.S., on Monday, April 6, 2020.
Christopher Occhicone | Bloomberg | Getty Images
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Saturday announced an executive order to cut capacity on all transit systems by half, and asked all passengers to wear face coverings.
In addition, the order requires NJ Transit and private carriers to supply their workers with gloves and face coverings.
“Right now for many of our essential workers, public transit is how they get to work and we need to protect them during that trip,” Murphy said during a press briefing.
The order requires New Jersey Transit “and all private carriers to cut the capacity on all trains, buses, light rail vehicles, and paratransit vehicles to 50% of their maximum,” Murphy said.
Murphy further expanded the executive order to restaurant workers and customers, announcing that anyone heading into restaurants and bars to pick up takeout orders must wear a mask. Restaurants and bars will also be required to give face coverings and gloves to their food-service personnel. All orders will be effective April 13 at 8 p.m.
Murphy emphasized that a face covering does not mean a medical-grade mask. “We need to keep those for our front-line public health and safety responders …There are any number of ways you can cover your mouth and nose with a bandana or a homemade fabric covering,” Murphy said.
New Jersey reported more than 58,100 Covid-19 positive cases and 2,183 deaths as of Saturday.
