93-3-WMR Audio on Demand presents the Preston and Steve show podcast.

And now, Preston and Steve's news updates with Kathy Romano.

And it is Monday, May, sorry, Monday, excuse me.

Oh, hello.

Thursday, May 7th.

Good morning, Kathy.

Good morning. In the news this morning, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy extended the coronavirus outbreak public health emergency declaration Wednesday for another month. He first signed the declaration in March and renewed it in April. The declaration allows him to invoke emergency powers such as ordering businesses to close. Murphy said he decided to extend the declaration because it automatically expires after 30 days

and the underlying conditions making it necessary haven't changed.

On Wednesday, Murphy also announced that about 1,500 new cases in the state, putting the total

at about 132,000 along with 308 new deaths, bringing their death toll to 8,549.

Despite the climbing death toll and increasing cases, Murphy said the number of people in hospitals with COVID-19 continue to decline, as did the number of patients on ventilators.

Plans are being scrapped to limit crowds by allowing only locals at a popular municipality-owned Jersey Shore Beach when it reopens.

Governor Phil Murphy said last week that such a move at Point Pleasant Beach would be illegal.

But a new policy devised by the community aims to accomplish the same thing by different means.

Instead of allowing only borough residents onto the Maryland Avenue Beach, once it reopens,

the town plans to restrict parking near the beach, issuing permits to residents to allow them to park there. The move

incorporates Murphy's own advice this week. The governor touted what he called the success of

limiting attendance at state parks over the weekend by restricting parking to 50% of normal

capacity. Murphy suggests that local governments might issue parking restrictions

to help hold crowds down when beaches do reopen. The new policy takes effect on May 15th.

A University of Pittsburgh medical researcher described as being on the verge of making very

significant findings about the novel coronavirus was shot and killed in an apparent murder

...