How many people can be inside New Jersey's restaurants, gyms and other indoor businesses increased Friday.
As of 6 a.m., restaurants, amusement venues, gyms, casinos, fitness clubs, barber shops, salons and personal care businesses were permitted to have up to 50% capacity, Gov. Phil Murphy announced last week.
Previously, capacity was set at 35%.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
Bar seating still isn't permitted, Murphy said.
The easing of restrictions and expansion of indoor activities and dining comes as the cap on indoor personal gatherings also goes up. Starting Friday, the limit for indoor non-religious and non-political activities goes from 10 to 25.
Outdoor gatherings can go up from 25 to 50 people maximum.
Murphy doesn't want people to let their guards down, even as thousands more people get the coronavirus vaccine each day.
The statewide mask mandate in public places remains in effect, Murphy said.
Nearly 755,000 PCR test-confirmed cases have been reported in New Jersey during the pandemic. Another nearly 99,000 cases have been reported through antigen testing. At least 21,561 people have died from coronavirus-related complications.
