New Jersey To Reopen Pools On June 22; Full Guidelines Should Come Tuesday

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy says public and private pools in the state can reopen as of June 22, with more guidelines to come this week.

The coronavirus pandemic caused a closure of gyms and fitness facilities this spring. New Jersey will move to Stage 2 of its state-wide reopening plan next Monday (June 15th), and the governor indicated on Twitter today that pools would follow one week into stage 2.

NEW: Municipal and private-club swimming pools can REOPEN on Monday, June 22nd. 🤿@NJDeptofHealth will release full guidance tomorrow relating to the procedures and protocols that will need to be followed. pic.twitter.com/beVB3PnOZV

— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) June 8, 2020

The state should release “full guidance” tomorrow, which will outline what rules facilities must follow when they reopen. Other states have been reopening over the past month, many restricting facilities to one-half or one-quarter of their typical capacities, limiting pools to one swimmer per lane, and closing locker rooms or restricting locker room access.

New Jersey’s reopening plan should also allow gyms, libraries and museums to reopen in phase 2, although there are no specific dates for those facilities yet, according to NJ.com. Hair salons and barber shops can reopen on June 22 along with swimming pools.

Two New Jersey high school swimmers had publicly lobbied for the state to reopen pools in mid-May, arguing that competitive swimmers were disciplined enough to follow social distancing guidelines and other rules if facilities reopened.

According to the state’s website, New Jersey’s new cases of COVID-19 peaked in April and generally fell across the month of May. The state has had 12,214 confirmed deaths with COVID-19.

You can follow each state’s reopening process in our state-by-state pool reopening index.