Gov. Phil Murphy announced Wednesday he is now requiring all employees and shoppers at the businesses still open in New Jersey to wear face coverings until further notice to help fight the coronavirus outbreak and has limited the number of customers allowed inside stores to a max of 50% of their capacity.

Murphy signed an executive order to institute the new rules — his latest in an effort to increase social distancing to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

“We are taking this step to protect both customers and workers," Murphy said at the Trenton War Memorial during his daily coronavirus press briefing.

A Murphy administration official said store employees are allowed to limit the time offenders are permitted to stay in the store and ask anybody who isn’t wearing a mask or covering to stay away from other customers. But the official did not say if there would be any other punishment for violators.

Murphy said he hopes people not wearing coverings would “get asked to leave” and referred to the limited enforcement action as “benevolent."

“My personal guidance is you gotta go out and find something to put on your face before you come in," the governor said.

Workers will also be required to wear gloves if they’re interacting with customers, Murphy said. Businesses are required to give workers masks, coverings and gloves at the businesses’ expense.

Those under age 2 or those with medical reasons for not wearing a face covering are exempt.

The governor also said further limits on the number of people in stores could come in the future.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage

The order also requires that stores create physical barriers, where possible, to separate shoppers from clerks and baggers. Murphy said the rule is statewide and local municipal officials may not enact stricter restrictions.

The new restrictions are statewide and can’t be overruled by local officials, Murphy said.

Meanwhile, the governor signed an additional order to increase the state’s weight limits for trucks from 40 tons to 46 tons to allow for larger deliveries of food and supplies.

“We’re not running out of food or supplies,” Murphy said. “We’re strained, yes.”

Murphy announced Wednesday that New Jersey, a state of 9 million residents, now has at least 47,437 cases and at least 1,504 deaths from COVID-19. Only New York has more cases among U.S. states.

Officials say New Jersey could see its peak number of cases between April 19 and May 11, while the peak number of hospitalizations could come between April 10 and April 28.

To help curb the virus’ spread, Murphy has ordered New Jersey residents to stay at home, banned social gatherings, closed schools, and mandated non-essential retail businesses to close until further notice.

Residents are allowed to travel to essential businesses — like supermarkets and gas stations — for necessary items, such as food and medicine.

President Donald Trump’s administration has urged all Americans to wear cloth facing coverings in public. Murphy has said New Jerseyans can, too, although he stressed residents should stay away from N95 masks or other medical-grade masks because they are short in supply and needed by health-care workers and first responders.

Murphy on Wednesday also banned all non-essential construction in New Jersey and postponed the state’s June 2 primary elections to July 7.

The governor continued to call on all residents to stay home and practice social distancing. He also warned that he is not close to lifting his restrictions.

“It’s going to take time to reopen our state in a systematic and careful way to protect against a boomeranging of the coronavirus,” Murphy said. “If we open up too soon, we are placing gasoline on the fire.”

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

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