Gov. Murphy To Roll Out Broad NJ Reopening Plan Amid Coronavirus

UPDATE: Gov. Phil Murphy offered a broad reopening plan on Monday, providing a six-point outline to "restart New Jersey and put the state on the road to recovery." Read more: Gov. Murphy Issues 6-Point NJ Reopen Plan In Coronavirus Crisis

NEW JERSEY – Gov. Phil Murphy has offered a timeline and some details on when he plans to release a "broad" plan to reopen New Jersey's economy amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Murphy said on Sunday that New Jersey is "still a number of weeks away" from a full reopening, but he did say that the state is developing a plan that is expected to be announced at 12 noon on Monday (Patch will cover it live). Read more: WATCH: Gov. Murphy's NJ Coronavirus Reopen Update

He said he expects that the reopening plan will vary by geography, noting that "you have density issues in the north that you don't have in the south." Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

At least one Jersey Shore town has come up with plans to reopen its beach, parks and stores if New Jersey eases restrictions. Read more: Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Suggests Possible Beach Reopen Plan

Murphy had suggested that he could offer a reopening plan as early as Friday. But Murphy said during a Friday news conference that that plan will be released on Monday.

It's not known if the slowing progress in the coronavirus crisis management that was revealed on Friday impacted that plan, as well as its release. Read more: Gov. Murphy: NJ 'Backslides' In Coronavirus Outbreak

The plan will presumably phase out Murphy's stay-at-home order that was issued a month ago, and he's suggested that schools could reopen on May 15. Read more: Gov. Murphy: NJ Schools Shut Through May 15 In Coronavirus Crisis

Murphy offered some clues on Thursday, saying the plan could be similar to what Pennsylvania rolled out this week.

PA Gov. Tom Wolf explained a color-coded system that will delineate the operating status of each region during the coronavirus pandemic. Pennsylvania will categorize its reopening into three phases: red, yellow, and green, Wolf said. Read more: Gov. Wolf Unveils 3-Phased, Color-Coded Reopening Plan By Region

"I can't tell you at this point if our color scheme will the same as Pennsylvania's, but the notion of having something like that is broadly similar to what we're thinking about," Murphy said.

Murphy also offered what will be needed to make that plan work, and he suggested that it will come in "phases."

"We do owe folks the broad principles of what we're looking for in order to give us the confidence that we can begin to move to that phase," Murphy said.

Murphy said he has to balance economic and health factors when he rolls out his plan now that more than 100,000 have been diagnosed with the coronavirus and more than 50,000 have died.

On Thursday and Friday, Murphy took time to explain what will be needed to make the plan work.

• Robust testing: Murphy said robust testing is "vital" for a responsible opening, and he offered hope that the rapid saliva tests developed by Rutgers University – which could deliver results in one or two days – could be a major "breakthrough." Right now, however, New Jersey needs to at least double the state's testing capacity before doing any reopening.
• Contact tracing: Murphy said New Jersey is working with New York and Connecticut to have an effective plan for tracing cases, and former NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg has offered to provide funding.
• Isolation and quarantine: Once testing and contact tracing are developed, the state will develop a plan to isolate and quarantine those who are sick as a way to "contain future cases and prevent them from becoming boomerang outbreaks," particularly in the fall.

"We're working as fast as we can," Murphy said.