Hockey, basketball and other indoor sports can resume – with capacity restrictions in place – amid coronavirus in New Jersey.
Gov. Phil Murphy announced late Monday night that he had signed an executive order that immediately allowed for organized indoors sports defined as “medium risk” and high risk” to resume practices and competitions at 25% capacity of the room with a max of 25 people and a minimum of 10 people.
For events that require more than 25 people to happen, the capacity can exceed 25, but with “no unnecessary individuals such as spectators” present, according to Murphy’s office.
“Even if this exception applies, the number of individuals at the practice or competition cannot exceed 25% of the capacity of the room, and such limit cannot exceed 150 persons,” Murphy’s office said in a news release.
All sports must adhere to the state’s Guidance for Sports that includes screenings for coaches and athletes and sanitization standards.
The sports now given the go include basketball, boxing, cheerleading, group dance, hockey, judo, karate, rugby, taekwondo, and wrestling, the state said.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for our student-athletes, support staff, and school communities,” Murphy said. “After consulting stakeholders and medical experts, we have concluded that, with proper public health and safety protocols in place, indoor sports may now resume in a way that protects players, coaches, and staff.”
The scholastic and collegiate sports are also subject to standards put in place by their governing bodies as well.
New Jersey has seen a recent increase in coronavirus cases with the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic at more than 214,000. At least 14,387 people are confirmed to have died from COVID-19-related complications.
