Murphy closes all state and county parks in effort to flatten curve of coronavirus

All state and county parks will be closed as a way to expand efforts against the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday. 

"We have seen far too many instances of people gathering in groups at parks, erroneously thinking since they're outside, social distancing doesn't matter," Murphy said at the day's briefing. "Nothing could be further from the truth."

Instead, Murphy suggested getting fresh air by going for a walk or bicycle ride in your neighborhood or local park. 

Local municipal parks may still be open. The decision to open or close them is up to the local governing body, Murphy said. However, he warned residents not to travel to another town to use their parks if local ones are closed. 

"We need 100% compliance to flatten the curve, and unfortunately this requires us taking this step," he said. "We must not just flatten this curve, we must crush this curve."

The parks will close Tuesday at 8 p.m. until further notice. 

The decision was one of four executive orders Murphy announced on Tuesday. New Jersey has lost over 1,200 residents to complications related to the coronavirus. 

The other executive orders extended the public health emergency by 30 days, extended deadlines for school districts that hold spring elections and waived school year assessment requirements for eighth and twelfth grade students. 

Kristie Cattafi is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: cattafi@northjersey.com Twitter: @KristieCattafi