COMMISSIONER PRESIDENT WAYNE L. RICHARDSON ISSUES STATEMENT OF SUPPORT ON GOVERNOR MURPHY’S EXECUTIVE ORDER INCREASING CAPACITY LIMITS FOR RELIGIOUS SERVICES AND LARGE SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT VENUES

I support Governor Murphy’s recent Executive Order increasing capacity
limits for religious services and large sports and entertainment venues. Our
Governor has shown tremendous leadership throughout the pandemic by
mandating some of the toughest gathering restrictions of any state in the
nation. As a public servant of Essex County, I appreciated the need for
these restrictions over the past year. To date, our county has had over
66,000 positive COVID-19 cases and more deaths than any county in New
Jersey.

Going forward, I urge all Essex County residents, and those in surrounding
areas, to maintain caution, and to continue to adhere to the practices of
social distancing, mask wearing, testing, and when eligible vaccination, in
effort to stop the spread of this deadly virus. I have received the COVID-
19 Vaccine, and I implore all eligible residents to get vaccinated and
spread the word of its importance in your communities.