NJTV News: May 14, 2020

The Jersey shore will be open for Memorial Day Weekend, but it won’t be the summers of years past. Gov. Phil Murphy says there will be occupancy limits, and everyone but families and couples will be required to stay 6 feet apart. Groups of 10 or more will be prohibited. Swimming will be allowed, restrooms will be open, but rides, games and anything drawing a crowd is off limits. The new rules go into effect May 22 and give shore towns and lakesides a lot of freedom to carry out the restrictions. They’ll have eight days to get their individual plans in place. The long-awaited guidance comes as the state announces another 244 new coronavirus related deaths Thursday. Statewide fatalities now total 9,946. Overnight health officials reported another 1,216 new positive test results with 142,704 total confirmed cases statewide. It is a downward trend, but the numbers throw a bit of cold water on any reopening celebrations. The number of COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization has now dropped below 4,000 to 3,958 -- the lowest number since the state began publicly tracking that data in early April. Across the state’s regions the hospitalization rates are declining, except for a slight uptick in South Jersey. Murphy says it’s the best real-time indicator of the coronavirus outbreak and that data influenced his decision to continue lifting lockdown restrictions. Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE for daily videos: http://bit.ly/1ERsYqw For full episodes, check out http://www.njtvnews.org/ Facebook:   / njtvonline   Twitter:   / njtvnews   Instagram:   / njtvnewsroom   ----------------- While NJTV does not and cannot review every submission and is not responsible for the content of your comments, NJTV reserves the right to delete, remove, move, or edit comments that it, in its sole discretion, deems abusive, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise illegal or unacceptable for any reason.  ----------------- NJTV News is a nightly news program that airs weekdays on NJTV that covers local New Jersey news. Be sure to share with us your story ideas, feedback and tips about news in your neighborhood here: http://bit.ly/1GnSEtn NJTV News airs every weeknight at 6, 7:30 and 11 p.m. ET on NJTV.