years had passed. Aid in dying On April 13, 2019, Gov. Murphy signed a law allowing terminally ill New Jerseyans with less than six months to live to end their lives with the assistance of a doctor. It became effective August 1, 2019. Coronavirus pandemic The first case of the coronavirus was reported on March 5, 2020, when a 32-year-old man from Fort Lee, Bergen County, tested positive. Murphy ordered a near 'lockdown' on March 23 at 9 pm via executive order. As of April 11, 2020 he had signed 24 executive orders to deal with the pandemic. April 28 saw the highest number of deaths in the state. Murphy met with President Donald Trump on April 30, 2020, to discuss how to proceed. On May 4 he ordered that schools remain closed for the duration of the school year. In May 2020 interview Murphy said with regard to loosening restrictions in the state: “But here is the reality: Public health creates economic health. It is not the other way around. And if we transpose those steps or if we jump the gun irresponsibly, we throw — based on any amount of evidence — gasoline on the fire and it gets a lot worse. Never mind from a public health standpoint, the economic health gets a lot worse.” As of May 15, 2020, the state counted 10,000 deaths. Approval rating for Murphy rose for his handling of the crisis. On June 24, the state imposed self-quarantine restrictions on persons arriving from other U.S states where corona cases were spiking. At the end of June 2020, Murphy reversed his decision to allow for indoor dining (part of the 2nd phase of the state's re-opening) after dramatic spikes in cases in other states and behaviour by "knuckleheads" in some restaurants. He implemented a 14-day quarantine for those visiting from 'high-risk' states. The July 7, 2020 primary election was conducted mostly by mail and was seen as an experiment for the November election. On July 8, Murphy signed an executive order mandating the use of face masks outdoors (with exceptions) where social distancing was not possible. The state has released persons held in both state and county prisons to reduce deaths by the COVID-19. In early August Murphy paused or rescinded certain aspects of the phased 'reopening' of New Jersey after cases in the state increased after a period of decline. In mid-August