Reports: Gov. Murphy to Drop Most COVID Limitations as of May 19

426 days after the lockdown was put in place, Gov. Murphy will be lifting most COVID-related restrictions on Wednesday, May 19th, and some before that.

In what is being called a regionally coordinated plan, Gov. Murphy, along with Gov. Cuomo of New York and Gov. Lamont of Connecticut, have announced that as of May 19th, indoor capacity limits for businesses like casinos, restaurants, gyms, hair salons, and museums will all be lifted for the first time in over a year, although people will still need to wear masks and practice social distancing, according to a report from NJ.com.

Bar seating, along with being able to get food at a self-service buffet, will return to the Garden State this Friday, May 7th. Also on Friday, indoor capacity limits, such as a prom this weekend, will increase to up to 250 people.

One caveat to reopening is social distancing. While, for example, a restaurant will be allowed to open at "full capacity," that capacity will be based on tables or seats remaining six feet apart. "Full capacity" is relative to the so-called "new normal" that we have been living with for over a year.

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Also beginning on May 19th, the indoor capacity for large venues (those with at least 1,000 fixed seats) can operate at 30 percent capacity with six feet of space between ticketed groups.

In New York City, theaters on and off Broadway can also reopen without capacity limits, but with social distancing, on May 19th.

In speaking of New York state, earlier today, Cuomo said, "It's a measured reopen. It's a phased-reopening. But we are at a point now where we are going to take a major step forward in reopening."

Over the weekend, New Jersey reported nearly 7.1 million people had received inoculations; almost 3.1 million are considered fully vaccinated. Another 4.2 million people have had at least one dose. Over 70% of the state's adult population will be fully vaccinated by Memorial Day.

With prior reporting from Townsquare Media's Eric Scott

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.