By Allison Perrine
NEW JERSEY – One month into the state’s gradual reopening and economic recovery, Gov. Phil Murphy declared that modified in-person graduation ceremonies can resume July 6.
Certain restrictions will still be in place, however. The ceremonies cannot be indoors and must take place either outdoors or as drive-in or drive-thru celebrations. Participants must adhere to capacity limitations with minimized staff and faculty members to facilitate the commencement ceremony accordingly. Caps, gowns and diplomas will be mailed to students’ homes or sent electronically, when possible.
“I am proud to say that our graduates will have the opportunity to join their classmates and families to celebrate graduation,” said Murphy. “Despite the uncertainty of these times, our students deserve to have their hard work acknowledged and celebrate safely. We have reached a point where we feel confident moving forward and giving our graduates the send-off they have so rightly earned.”
Institutions looking to host an in-person graduation ceremony must first coordinate with municipal officials, such as local law enforcement, first responders and local health officials, according to the governor’s office.
“We recognize that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted students’ plans to walk across graduation stages this year,” said Zakiya Smith Ellis, secretary of higher education, in a press release. “We owe it to New Jersey’s students to celebrate their drive to overcome tremendous odds and complete their degrees. With this new guidance in place, we will be working with institutions to help ensure healthy, safe celebrations for students and families.”
The decision, announced May 26, came as the number of new hospitalizations continues to trend downward, as does the number of patients in hospitals, intensive care units and on ventilators. According to Murphy, New Jersey is now ahead of 46 other states throughout the country in per capita testing, and among the 30,000 tests recorded May 23 alone, only 7 percent showed a positive result for the novel coronavirus.
“We are now well passed the peak,” he said in a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
Additionally, Murphy issued an executive order Friday allowing any professional sports teams that play or train in New Jersey to practice or have games or matches, should their leagues resume competitions, the governor’s office announced.
“Our administration has been in constant discussions with our professional sports teams about a modified return to operations,” said Murphy. “While leagues make their own decisions about operations, I am confident that teams are equipped to practice and eventually play in a responsible manner, protecting the health and safety of players, coaches and team personnel.” Fans will still be prohibited until further notice.
As of Wednesday, there have been 156,628 total positive cases of COVID-19 in New Jersey since the pandemic started, an increase of 970 from Tuesday. Of that total, there have been 11,339 deaths, an increase of 148 overnight.
In Monmouth County specifically, as of Wednesday, there were 8,006 total cases, which includes Atlantic Highlands, 29; Colts Neck, 76; Fair Haven, 25; Highlands, 32; Holmdel, 266; Little Silver, 36; Middletown, 679; Monmouth Beach, 20; Oceanport, 58; Red Bank, 211; Rumson, 34; Sea Bright, 10; and Tinton Falls, 194.
Murphy said government officials will watch the data carefully in the next few days to see if there were any impacts from the long holiday weekend. He also encouraged residents to get tested for the virus.
“Now as we begin to emerge from this challenge, we will need as much data as possible – especially from our communities of color who have been particularly ravaged and hit hard,” he said.
The article originally appeared in the May 28 – June 3, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
