New Jersey Administrative Code
Title - EXECUTIVE ORDERS
Title 55 - CHRIS CHRISTIE
Section - Executive Order No. 109 (2020)

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 6, March 18, 2024

Governor Philip D. Murphy

Executive Order No. 109 (2020)

An Order Suspending All Elective Surgeries, Whether Medical or Dental, Effective Friday, March 27, 2020

Issued: March 23, 2020.

Effective: March 23, 2020.

WHEREAS, through Executive Order No. 102 (2020), which I signed on February 3, 2020, I created the State's Coronavirus Task Force, chaired by the Commissioner of the New Jersey

Department of Health ("DOH"), in order to coordinate the State's efforts to appropriately prepare for and respond to the public health hazard posed by Coronavirus disease 2019 ("COVID-19"); and

WHEREAS, in light of the dangers posed by COVID-19, I issued Executive Order No. 103 (2020) on March 9, 2020, the facts and circumstances of which are adopted by reference herein, which declared both a Public Health Emergency and State of Emergency; and

WHEREAS, in accordance with N.J.S.A. App. A:9-34 and -51, I reserved the right to utilize and employ all available resources of State government to protect against the emergency created by COVID-19; and

WHEREAS, as of March 21, 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC"), there were more than 292,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, with over 12,000 of those cases having resulted in death; and

WHEREAS, as of March 20, 2020, there were more than 15,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, with at least 201 of those cases having resulted in death; and

WHEREAS, as of March 23, 2020, there were at least 1,914 positive cases of COVID-19 in New Jersey, with at least 20 of those cases having resulted in death; and

WHEREAS, in recognition that the CDC has advised that social mitigation strategies for combatting COVID-19 require every effort to reduce the rate of community spread of the disease and that COVID-19 spreads most frequently through person-to-person contact when individuals are within six feet or less of one another, I issued Executive Order No. 107 (2020) on March 21, 2020, the facts and circumstances of which are adopted by reference herein, which ordered steps to mitigate community spread of COVID-19 limiting the unnecessary movement of individuals in and around their communities and person-to-person interactions in accordance with CDC and DOH guidance and requiring all businesses or non-profits, wherever practicable, to accommodate their workforce for telework or work-from-home arrangements and reduce staff on site to the minimal number necessary to ensure that essential operations can continue; and

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 107 (2020) required the closure of facilities where personal care services are performed that, by their very nature, result in noncompliance with social distancing guidelines, including but not limited to cosmetology shops; barber shops; beauty salons; hair braiding shops; nail salons; electrology facilities; spas, including day spas and medical spas, at which solely elective and cosmetic medical procedures are performed; massage parlors, tanning salons, tattoo parlors, and public and private social clubs, whether or not they serve alcohol; and

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 107 (2020) did not limit, prohibit, or restrict in any way the provision of health care or medical services to members of the public, and allowed to remain open health facilities that provide medically necessary or therapeutic services; and

WHEREAS, even as we institute social distancing measures, the number of COVID-19 cases in New Jersey is likely to increase for the immediate future, and, consequently, requires the State to take additional steps to preserve our health care system's capacity to treat those who require emergency or intensive care; and

WHEREAS, limiting exposure of healthcare providers, patients, and staff to COVID-19 and conserving critical resources such as ventilators, respirators, anesthesia machines, and Personal Protective Equipment ("PPE") are essential to combatting the spread of the virus; and

WHEREAS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have issued guidance to limit non-essential adult elective surgery and medical and surgical procedures, including all dental procedures, to assist in the management of vital healthcare resources (including PPE) during this public health emergency and to limit potential exposure of healthcare providers, patients, and staff to the virus; and

WHEREAS, the United States Surgeon General has encouraged hospitals and healthcare systems to consider stopping elective procedures; and

WHEREAS, limiting non-essential adult elective surgery and invasive procedures, whether medical or dental, will assist in the management of vital healthcare resources during this public health emergency; and

WHEREAS, while certain surgeries and invasive procedures are medically appropriate, they are not time-sensitive and a postponement will not endanger the health of the patient, and at the same time, these procedures, whether undertaken in a hospital, ambulatory surgery center or provider office, necessarily draw upon the skill and time of critical health care professionals and involve the use of equipment and supplies that may be needed to treat those who are critically ill; and

WHEREAS, the Constitution and statutes of the State of New Jersey, particularly the provisions of N.J.S.A. 26:13-1 et seq., N.J.S.A. App. A: 9-33 et seq., N.J.S.A. 38A:3-6.1, and 38A:2-4 and all amendments and supplements thereto, confer upon the Governor of the State of New Jersey certain emergency powers, which I have invoked;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, PHILIP D. MURPHY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT: