Murphy: Fishing charters, watercraft rentals to resume in NJ
TRENTON, New Jersey -- Fishing charters will be allowed to resume starting Sunday, Governor Phil Murphy announced.
Other chartered-boat services and watercraft rentals will be back in operation effective 6 a.m. on May 17, Murphy said Saturday.
The governor said this will require specific social distancing and sanitation measures be followed.
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CASES
The state reported 115 new deaths on Saturday, bringing the total to 10,249.
There were 1,239 more positive cases confirmed. The statewide is at 145,089.
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ELECTIVE MEASURES
New Jersey stopped elective surgeries early in the outbreak to increase capacity at hospitals to confront coronavirus, Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said Friday, but data indicate they can start again.
Gov. Phil Murphy pointed to his own March 4 surgery that would have been considered elective to remove a cancerous tumor on his kidney.
"Elective surgery makes it sound like it's all a bunch of folks who want to get a nose job lined up," he said. "This covers ... a broad range of procedures that are in some cases quite serious."
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JULY 7 PRIMARY
New Jersey's closed primary, which means only Democrats and Republicans, is set to go forward July 7, moved from June 2, and Murphy said he's ordering all voters registered with a party to get postage-paid mail-in ballots. He said unaffiliated voters will get an application sent to them so they can register with a party if they want to vote in the primary.
New Jersey already has no-excuse voting by mail, but Murphy said the July 7 election will see just one in-person polling place per town, with the aim of decreasing any gathering at the ballot box.
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CASH FOR SMALL BUSINESS
The state will set aside $50 million in federal funds for small businesses, Murphy said. Most of the money will be for grants, he added. It's unclear when the money will be available or how businesses can apply for it, but the governor said the funds would go through the state's Economic Development Authority.
MORE COVID-19 COVERAGE
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