New Jersey will likely be under strict social-distancing orders to fight the spread of the coronavirus for the next six weeks before restrictions could begin to be pulled back and some semblance of normalcy returns to day-to-day living, Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday evening.

Think more like June or July, not May, Murphy said.

“I personally think in the warmer weather, we could begin to find our footing, assuming again that we’ve got the health care infrastructure, especially broad-scale testing, that we’re going to need to give us that confidence,” the governor said during an appearance on MSNBC.

“I think this is a June or July much better reality if we keep doing our part, especially stay at home right now,” he added.

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Murphy was asked by the host to predict a realistic timeline of what people can expect for the next three months.

The governor, who said Monday the curve of cases in New Jersey is “undeniably now flattening" after weeks of strict lockdown orders but that the house is still “on fire,” stressed people need to continue to adhere to his rules so progress can continue.

“Please stay home because it’s working and then we sort of have a May, which is not as high pitched in the fight as April, but it’s still sort of a challenging month,” Murphy said.

He appeared on MSNBC hours after he announced the outbreak continues to escalate, with at least 68,824 total cases and 2,805 total deaths, marking an increase of 4,059 positive tests and 365 new fatalities in the last 24 hours.

New Jersey has 128,604 residents who have been tested for coronavirus and 70,950 have tested negative, according to state Department of Health’s website. The positivity rate is about 45%, state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said.

Murphy warned again of a possible “boomerang” of the virus if social distancing is lax.

“Let’s only go through this once,” the governor said during his daily coronavirus press briefing in Trenton. “We have to keep our foot on the gas. We have to stay at home.”

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

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