New Jersey's return to indoor dining in restaurants will not resume this week, according to Governor Phil Murphy.
Gov. Murphy says the stark increase in COVID-19 numbers from other states appears to be largely driven by indoor dining in restaurants.
In the interest of maintaining the state's relative success over the past six week in fighting the pandemic, New Jersey's prohibition of dining inside restaurants will continue "indefinitely."
"We do not wish to see New Jersey experience a similar spike," Murphy wrote in a statement released via Twitter. "It brings me no joy to do this, but we have no choice."
He added that he's personally seen overcrowding and disregard of social distancing in recent days.
"We have to be cautious throughout every step of our restart," Murphy added. "We've always said that we would not hesitate to hit pause if needed to safeguard public health. This is one of those times."
Fearing the threat of super-spreaders erasing progress against the virus, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut have all instituted mandatory 14-day quarantines for travelers from states with climbing COVID-19 numbers.
Many states placed similar restrictions on travelers from the Tri-State area when it was the epicenter for the virus in the U.S.
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