As New Jersey Expands Reopenings, What To Expect In Wayne

WAYNE, NJ — As parts of the nation grapple with a new surge in coronavirus cases, the State of New Jersey steadily continues to reopen.

Municipalities across the state, including in Wayne Township, will make decisions on reopening, and how to do so as, starting Monday, indoor shopping malls can open.

Beginning on Thursday, even more businesses will be allowed to reopen, albeit to varying degrees. Indoor dining at restaurants can resume, casinos can reopen, and a variety of other businesses can open with a 25 percent capacity.

In Wayne, Willowbrook Mall will open on Monday for indoor retail, though few other details have been announced as of Friday afternoon.

Read more: Wayne's Willowbrook Mall Announces Monday Reopening

According to the Wayne Township Parks and Recreation Department, all playgrounds will open on July 2 in accordance with the state issued guidance.

Wayne Public Library Director Ricardo Pino said the Board will hold a special meeting on Wednesday to discuss reopening, and to go over policies to do so. The current proposal is for the library to open July 6, but current curbside services will still be available, even once the library opens, according to Pino.

Planet Fitness, which has a gym in Wayne and has been reopening in other states across the country, has not announced that it will open for individualized training or appointments.

However, a note on the gym website indicates the facility will open "as soon as permitted."

According to Northjersey.com, new Wayne restaurant Casa Don Manuel may also be opening for indoor dining on Thursday.

These are all the reopenings slated for next week:

• Indoor malls will reopen on June 29th
• In-person clinical labs and hands-on programming at colleges will be allowed to resume on July 1
• Career and training schools can reopen on July 1st
• Playgrounds will reopen on July 2nd
• Amusement parks will reopen on July 2nd
• Water parks will reopen on July 2nd.
• Indoor dining will be allowed to resume on July 2nd
• Casinos will be allowed to reopen on July 2nd.
• Racetracks may also reopen for in-person bets on July 2nd
• Indoor capacity at catering halls will also resume on July 2nd
• Museums will reopen at 25 percent of capacity on July 2nd
• Aquariums will reopen at 25 percent of capacity on July 2nd
• Bowling alleys will reopen at 25 percent of capacity on July 2nd
• Shooting ranges will reopen at 25 percent of capacity on July 2nd
• Arcades will reopen at 25 percent of capacity on July 2nd
• Libraries will reopen on July 2nd
• Gym and fitness centers will be allowed to open only for individualized training, and by appointment, involving one person and/or your family on July 2nd
• The limit on outdoor gatherings will rise to 500 on July 3rd

In-person services for driver’s license renewals and other Motor Vehicle Commission responsibilities were also scheduled to reopen this week, but were delayed on Friday.

MVC Chief Administrator Sue Fulton said the MVC intended to rely on its new text notification system to check people in, then allow them to leave the building and go elsewhere.

"Unfortunately, this new system requires further testing, so we will not be able to open as fully as we anticipated on June 29," she said." Without the text notification system, the number of people waiting for transactions who will need to be on site will far exceed capacity limitations.”