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Law360 (May 14, 2021, 7:29 PM EDT ) New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and state legislative leaders unveiled plans Friday to end the long-running coronavirus public health emergency declaration in the state and to enact legislation to continue the fight against COVID-19, marking another major step in returning the Garden State back to normal.
More than a year after first declaring the emergency, the governor signed an executive order Friday extending it for 30 days but will allow the declaration to expire if legislation is finalized beforehand, according to the joint announcement from Murphy; Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester; and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex.
Murphy — a Democrat who is seeking a second term this year — said in the statement that, following "an extremely difficult year, we are seeing the results of our mitigation efforts and our successful vaccination program."
"In order to continue on the path to normalcy, we need all available resources to continue our progress in vaccinating New Jerseyans and finally beating back this pandemic," Murphy said.
The governor said his administration is "working closely" with Sweeney and Coughlin on "legislation that will allow the public health emergency to expire but ensure that we have the necessary tools and flexibility to continue the fight against the pandemic, including the vaccination efforts that are our highest priority."
"By working together, we are confident that we can move to the next phase of our recovery effort," the governor added.
Murphy initially declared the public health emergency at the start of the pandemic in March 2020 and has renewed it every month since then. In response to the emergency, the governor has issued a series of executive orders imposing restrictions aimed at combating the spread of COVID-19.
Friday's announcement represents a critical turning point for a state where the pandemic has led to more than 880,000 positive cases of COVID-19 and more than 23,000 deaths. In recent months, however, the number of cases has been trending downward as more New Jerseyans got vaccinated.
With such improving public health conditions, Murphy has outlined plans to ease current COVID-19 restrictions. Among those changes, which take effect Wednesday, businesses will no longer be subject to percentage-based capacity limits.
Those positive trends also have led the New Jersey Supreme Court to sign off on holding grand jury sessions and certain criminal and civil jury trials in person starting next month.
In Friday's statement, Sweeney indicated that the announcement marks "real progress as we work to emerge from the worst public health crisis of our lifetime."
"It's the beginning of the end of a crisis that has tragically claimed the lives of an unimaginable number of New Jerseyans and impacted the lives and livelihoods of nearly everyone. The worst is behind us, and now is the time to move forward to restore the quality of life for the people of New Jersey," Sweeney said.
The state Senate president added that Murphy "has done a good job managing the emergency, and the Legislature worked hard throughout the shutdown to help those who suffered the consequences of the pandemic."
"We will work in partnership with the Governor and the Assembly to overcome the many challenges ahead," Sweeney said. "The new normal won't be normal for some time. We have to make the best use of our resources, our abilities and our determination to address the needs of our citizens."
Coughlin echoed those points in the statement, saying he is "very encouraged by the data we are seeing, and I look forward to a return to normalcy for the State of New Jersey and our over 9 million residents."
"Our state has shown remarkable resilience during this pandemic. I will work closely with the Governor and Senate President to produce legislation that enables us to safely and responsibly reopen our state as we seek to spur the economy and create jobs," Coughlin said. "We will come back stronger than ever."
--Editing by Andrew Cohen.
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