Cape May County official to Philly residents: Stay away until coronavirus restrictions ease

Many people who vacation at the Jersey Shore are escaping to the beach as coronavirus-related restrictions otherwise leave them cooped inside their Philadelphia area homes. 

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But Cape May County Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton is urging visitors to avoid the Jersey Shore for the next several weeks to help mitigate COVID-19 cases within the beach towns. 

Additional visitors to the Jersey Shore, whether they are traveling to their beach houses or staying with family, are putting a strain on local grocery stores, causing many to have limited stock of certain products, Thornton said.

“We love all of our visitors from Pennsylvania, North Jersey, New York and further away,” Thornton said in a statement. “But this is not the time to be visiting the shore as we try to focus resources needed during this pandemic to our residents.”

Additional visitors eventually could burden the region's medical centers if a coronavirus outbreak occurs, Thornton said. Cape May County has just one hospital. 

“We are hoping that people act responsibly now so we can minimize the health impacts in as short of a period of time as possible,” Thornton said. “It would be best if people could stay in their full-time residence for now as we address this current outbreak.”

New Jersey had 427 coronavirus cases, including five deaths, as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the state health officials. Another 21 people were under investigation. 

There were 31 cases in South Jersey. Burlington County had 10, Camden County had eight and Ocean County had eight. Atlantic County had three while Gloucester County had two. Cape May County announced its first case, but it is not yet included in the state's tally. 

On Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy urged residents to stay home between 8 p.m and 5 a.m to combat the spread of coronavirus in the state. He also instructed all gyms, movie theaters, race tracks and casinos to close for the foreseeable future. 

Some non-essential businesses, including restaurants, are permitted to remain open between 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., but their occupancies need to be kept beneath the 50-person threshold recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. They also need to adhere to social distancing guidelines. 

Restaurants and bars must close off dining services after 8 p.m. but can remain open for takeout and delivery. Essential businesses, like supermarkets, pharmacies, gas stations and medical offices, may remain open after the 8 p.m. curfew. 

Murphy announced on Tuesday that all malls, amusement parks and entertainment centers in the state must shut their doors until further notice to slow the spread of COVID-19. Restaurants located in malls can remain open for takeout and delivery.