Governor extends N.J. school closures to May 15

Gov.+Phil+Murphy+announced+on+April+16+that+the+statewide+closure+of+schools+will+now+extend+to+at+least+May+15.

Photo courtesy of Sophia Nicholas/Pixabay

Gov. Phil Murphy announced on April 16 that the statewide closure of schools will now extend to at least May 15.

April 17, 2020

New Jersey is extending its statewide closure of all schools to “at least” May 15, Gov. Phil Murphy announced at his daily coronavirus press briefing on April 16.

The decision to add one more month to the closure, which Murphy said he made after consulting with state Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli and state Education Commissioner Lamont Repollet, has been left open-ended. Murphy did not rule out further extensions to the order to keep schools closed, according to reporting from the Bernardsville News on April 16.

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“There’s nobody who wants to open the schools more than I do,” Murphy said. “But we cannot be guided by emotion.”

As of April 16, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in New Jersey stands at a total of 75,317. More than 350 new deaths were also reported, bringing the total number of fatalities to more than 3,500.

The mid-May date, Murphy said, is “a comfortable enough window for us to make one more shot to re-assess.”