COVID-19: Governor Orders Flags to be Raised to Full Staff

Published on July 02, 2020

Gov. Phil Murphy has issued an Executive Order (Number 160) to direct that all flags across the state be flown high on Fouth of July, ending a three-month directive to fly flags at half staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic.(JPG, 14KB)

On April 3, as a gesture of collective mourning for victims of COVID-19, the Governor directed that flags be lowered to half-staff indefinitely. In his new order, he said:

WHEREAS, as of July 3, 2020, our flags will have been lowered for exactly three months, an unprecedented gesture of mourning for an unprecedented tragedy in the history of New Jersey; and

WHEREAS, while we continue to mourn all those who have lost their lives and keep their families in our thoughts and prayers, raising the flags at this time can serve as a symbol of our recovery and continued resolve, and will allow our flags to fly at full staff for Independence Day;

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:

1. The flag of the United States of America and the flag of New Jersey shall fly at full staff at all State departments, offices, agencies, and instrumentalities, starting on Friday, July 3, 2020.
2. As of Friday, July 3, 2020, Executive Order No. 114 (2020) is no longer in effect.