With state coffers bare, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said the state was "on the brink of making unpalatable decisions" because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The governor announced two more tough calls Monday: the continued closure of schools through the end of the 2019-20 academic year, and rescinding an executive order to commit $1.28 billion toward the state's surplus fund.

Murphy began his daily COVID-19 briefing Monday at the Trenton War Memorial by announcing that his March 16 executive order to close all schools statewide remains intact. Private schools with longer academic years will remain closed until at least June 30.

While in-person instruction remains prohibited, public schools will continue to provide remote learning for students to allow districts to meet the state-required minimum of 180 instruction days, the governor said.

In addition, there will be no spring sports.

The human and economic toll from the pandemic continues to mount. The respiratory disease has claimed more than 67,000 lives total, with 7,910 deaths in New Jersey as of Monday.

It's seven weeks into the lockdown to slow the pandemic's spread and more than 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits.

Closer to home, the system that handles unemployment claims in New Jersey crashed over the weekend due to the overwhelming  number of new claims, said Murphy.

Perhaps more telling of the fiscal damage caused by the pandemic is that the state's aspiration to save up for the future has been quickly replaced with a need to survive the present.

With plummeting state revenues, Murphy signed Executive Order No. 137, rescinding Executive Order No. 73, which directed the Department of the Treasury to achieve a $1.28 billion surplus by the end of this current fiscal year.

That is now off the table with state revenues plummeting at a rapid clip.

"No one has been more committed to restoring our state's fiscal foundation than I have,"  Murphy said in a separate release. "We have spent the past two years working nonstop to build surpluses and put money aside for a rainy day fund. However, in the absence of significant federal assistance, we are on the brink of having to make very tough fiscal decisions, and a $1.28 billion surplus for this fiscal year is no longer realistic."

Added Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio in the same release: "Building our reserves to responsible new heights was one of our paramount fiscal goals. However, COVID-19 handed us an entirely new reality. Absent additional federal funding and a substantive borrowing facility, our foremost priority now is ensuring sufficient cash flow to meet this health crisis head on while also meeting our basic obligations."

At the War Memorial, Murphy alluded to very tough days ahead for state government and the need for federal assistance.

"There will be significant cuts to critical services," Murphy said. "Bankruptcy is not an option. We're facing a mountain of unemployment claims. We are facing a fiscal disaster in a matter of weeks. Congress needs to act now. We will continue to push for federal assistance … to provide a bridge for cash flow needs," Murphy said. 

Without providing details, Murphy hinted at "large-scale layoffs" among the ranks of public employees.

The governor also said he plans to veto several bills that fall into four categories: (1) measures that have been recently introduced and so-called clean up bills; (2) bills that the federal government will fund, such as the CARES Act; (3) bills with a noble notion but can't be executed due to the pandemic or would exceed the time frame needed to deal with the crisis at hand; and (4) bills that "we don't have the money for."

While parks, golf courses and beaches reopened over the weekend, none generates sales, income or corporate tax revenue that the state desperately needs.

Murphy said his Restart and Recovery Commission held its first formal meeting and that other smaller councils will be formed to provide a tactical approach to the state's reopening efforts.

The governor remains noncommittal  on when nonessential retail or Atlantic City's casinos would reopen, saying only, "We need to see progress on health care curves. We're just not there yet."

The nine COVID-19-related bills Murphy signed Monday are as follows:

A-3813/S-2292 — Would permit the use of virtual or remote instruction to meet the minimum 180-day school year requirement;

A-3841/S-2300 — Would automatically extend the time to file gross income tax or corporation business tax returns if the federal government extends the filing or payment due date for federal returns;

A-3842/S-2282 — Would  establish Bridging the Digital Divide in Schools Grant Program in the Department of Education to provide and expand access to technology and equipment for students;

A-3846/S-2293 — Would create a $20 million "Temporary Lost Wage Unemployment Program" for people to claim lost wages due to the coronavirus disease, and employers to pay wages to workers ordered under quarantine by a licensed health care practitioner;

A-3856/S-2297 — Would make FY 2020 supplemental appropriation of $10 million for health care and residential facility sanitation due to coronavirus outbreak;

A-3857/S-2275 — Would make FY 2020 supplemental appropriations of $15 million for grants to food banks;

A-3858/S-2288 — Would require the Commissioner of Human Services to issue supplemental cash assistance payments to Work First New Jersey recipients under certain circumstances;

A-3864/S-2299 — Would authorize notaries public to perform certain notarial acts remotely;

A-1104/S-687 — "The Hunger Free Students' Bill of Rights Act" would prevent school districts from taking adverse action, such as denial of meals or public identification measures against students who have school meal bills that are in arrears.