Gov. Phil Murphy says certain prisoners could be moved to temporary home confinement or freed on parole because of the spread of COVID-19 under a new executive order.

The governor said Friday that state correctional institutions are seeing COVID-19 spread within their walls, leading him to sign the order.

The inmates being considered are those whose current age or health status puts them at risk for the virus, those who had been denied parole within the last year and those whose sentences are set to expire within the next three months. Inmates convicted of what Murphy called serious crimes like murder or rape would not be eligible for home confinement or parole.

“We are setting up a robust process through which each potential, eligible individuals must be determined to be safe to place on home confinement, and will be required to have an individualized release plan to ensure they will have access to all necessary services, medical services and housing,” Murphy said. “No one who cannot meet these standards will be released.”

The governor also said that those who are under home confinement will fall under the supervision of the Department of Corrections.

The DOC says that 129 employees and 20 inmates at its prisons and ancillary locations have coronavirus.