Gov. Phil Murphy unveiled what he called a three-stage blueprint to reopening the economy from the COVID-19 shutdown during his daily briefing Monday.

The governor also said he was signing an order letting batting cages, golf driving ranges and some other businesses open up.

The approach goes from more restrictive practices in stage one to what Murphy called the “new normal” after stage three. Stage two includes outdoor dining, expanding retail, museums and libraries to reopen. Stage three includes fewer people working from home and bars could open with limited capacity.

 

The governor says each phase will happen over time, not all at once, and according to the data.

"And as we take each step, we will constantly be reviewing and reevaluating key metrics to ensure we can take the next one, and we will be guided by our ability to protect against a new outbreak with testing and contact tracing, clearer safe guards in place and a continued call for all of you to keep doing what you've been doing for the past couple of months,” says Gov. Murphy.

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Murphy says the state’s coronavirus trend lines continue in the right direction and the state would move next to letting retail expand its operations, along with outdoor dining and reduced-capacity indoor dining.

Murphy gave no timeline on when stages would advance, saying it’s all fluid and will move according to data