Gov. Phil Murphy announced the spread of the coronavirus has prompted him to recommend the cancellation of all public gatherings of more than 250 people in New Jersey.

The governor declared “we are in a public health emergency” and said the recommendation to cancel — or not attend — large gatherings goes into effect immediately.

“That’s everything from youth leagues to sports leagues, to concerts, and everything in between,” Murphy said in a video he posted to Twitter.

“We still don’t need to panic, but we’ve got to be smart,” he added.

BREAKING: Today, I am recommending the cancellation of all public gatherings of 250+ people, including parades, concerts, and sporting events.



Social distancing works. This is our best chance to mitigate the chance of exposure & rapid spread of #COVID19.https://t.co/AKOFRSvkQF pic.twitter.com/uFVplz6L3y — Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) March 12, 2020

Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who has been the face to the state’s response while Murphy recovers from surgery to remove a tumor from his kidney, said the measure was being taken to help mitigate the spread of the virus.

“Governor Murphy reported to us that he spoke directly to the leadership of several of our sports teams,” Oliver said at a news conference in Ewing, adding that they were receptive to the recommendation, as were people who control large venues in the state.

The governor has the authority to put a ban on public gatherings since he issued a state of emergency in reaction to the rising number of people testing positive, Acting State Police Superintendant Col. Patrick Callahan said.

But health officials say they weren’t prepared to do that just yet.

“What if it’s a wedding?” Judith Persichilli, the commissioner of the state’s Department of Health, said.

“What if it’s a private event?” Persichilli continued. “Part of the personal responsibility of those people is to consider the impact of having 250 people in a closed space.”

In Newark, New Jersey’s largest city, Mayor Ras Baraka implemented a similar measure and said all non-essential public gatherings or more than 50 people should be canceled for the next 30 days.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, issued a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people.

The recommendation comes as Bergen County officials announced two more coronavirus cases on Thursday bringing the number of presumptive positive tests to 13 in the state’s most populous county.

New Jersey now has 25 total coronavirus cases, though that number is likely to rise after state health officials give a broader update this afternoon.

Oliver didn’t identify a specific reason for the timing of the governor’s announcement about limiting public gatherings. She also didn’t say if there was a particular thing that prompted the measure.

“He has been guided by the scientific data that we have thus far,” Oliver said, adding “so little is known about transmission” and that health officials are being cautious.

Oliver announced six new people tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the state’s total to 29.

The six new cases include:

A 16-year-old girl from Englewood. This positive test was performed through Labcorp, rather than at the state lab. She is being treated at Englewood hospital.

A 66-year-old woman from Montclair. She is hospitalized at Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical Center.

A 51-year-old man from Bulter Borough. He is being treated at Chilton Medical Center in Pompton Plains.

A 23-year-old man from Bridgewater. He may have been exposed through close contact with a Pennsylvania resident who has coronavirus.

A 53-year-old man from Manalapan. He is being treated at CentraState Medical Center in Freehold and had exposure to a confirmed case.

A woman, age unknown, from Teaneck. She was exposed to a confirmed case at a synagogue carnival on March 1.

The new positive tests include the first cases for Somerset, Essex and Morris counties. New Jersey now has coronavirus cases in 11 of 21 counties.

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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or Facebook.

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