As the concern of the Coronavirus {COVID-19} pandemic steadily grows, more and more events have been canceled or postponed. Coachella has been rescheduled for next October, the NBA has cancelled its regular season after a player on the Utah Jazz was confirmed to have Coronavirus, and now, locally, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop is taking the necessary precautions to stop the spread of the virus.
First, Mayor Fulop announced that all city-sponsored and city-involved events would be canceled for the foreseeable future. A day later, Mayor Fulop made another announcement in response to the spread of Coronavirus: Jersey City will be temporarily implementing a curfew on bars and nightclubs starting this weekend, through to next week.
Keep reading for everything you need to know about the bar and nightclub curfew, cancellations of city-sponsored events, and how Jersey City is preparing for Coronavirus:
PS: If you live in Hoboken, here’s all the Coronavirus information you need to know.
Where in New Jersey Coronavirus has been confirmed
Both announcements come just days after Hudson County’s first confirmed case of Coronavirus. Hudson County View reports that a 32-year-old West New York man is receiving treatment in isolation at Hackensack University Medical Center. The man, whose identity is remaining anonymous, was admitted to the hospital on March 9.
Positive cases of Coronavirus have also been confirmed in bordering cities to Hudson County such as New York City and Fort Lee. Bergen County and Camden County have also seen positive diagnoses of COVID-19.
Everything we know about the curfew in Jersey City so far
With so many of Hudson County’s neighboring municipalities and cities recently confirming cases of Coronavirus, Mayor Fulop’s tactic seems to be implementing aggressive preventative measures to protect the people of Jersey City.
“Those are uncontrolled environments,” Fulop said in a statement, speaking of Jersey City’s active nightlife scene. “The nightclubs and bars attract a lot of people and we classify that as uncontrolled.”
Fulop clarified that restaurants will continue to be allowed to stay open as of right now. “Restaurants we want to allow to stay open. We’re kind of trying to find the balance,” Fulop told Pix11.
While Fulop did say that the bar and nightclub curfew will start this weekend, no one from his administration has yet confirmed a date and/or time for the curfew.
“We’re going through that right now,” Fulop said. “We’re probably going to be looking at 9 or 10 o’clock.”
How Jersey City schools are preparing for Coronavirus
Following in Mayor Fulop’s methods of aggressive prevention tactics are Jersey City public school districts. In an official letter sent earlier in the week to parents of children in the school districts, officials mandated that any student who comes to school wearing a face mask will be presumed to be ill with Coronavirus and sent home. Even if students come to school wearing masks as an illness prevention method, they will be presumed to be ill.
District officials added, “Face masks are not a protective measure and are meant to be used for those who are ill or experiencing symptoms… If your child comes to school wearing a mask, we will assume they are ill and contact you to retrieve your child immediately.”
The letter also added that the schools are implementing cleaning and sanitization schedules at all schools, and recommended children who have traveled to an area in the world impacted by Coronavirus should reach out their school principal or nurse before the child attends school again.
Jersey City also called for an early dismissal for its schools on Wednesday in an attempt to give administrators and staff members time to organize plans for online courses.
Which New Jersey schools have announced closures
Pix11 recently released a full list of all the schools in New Jersey that have announced closures due to concerns of Coronavirus.
- Bergen County Special Services Schools and Technical Schools are closed through Friday, March 20
- Bergenfield Schools will have an early dismissal Friday, March 13
- Bogota Schools will hold a single session day Thursday, March 12 to prepare for potential further closures
- Dumont Schools have a half day Friday, March 13
- Garfield Schools will have an early dismissal Thursday, March 12 and Friday, March 13
- Glen Rock Schools will be closed Monday, March 16 so the staff can develop plans for long-term closures
- Lyndhurst Schools will hold a single session Thursday, March 12
- Mahwah Schools will hold an “emergency, in-service professional day” Friday, March 13
- Cedar Grove Schools will have an early dismissal Thursday, March 12
- Fairfield Schools will have a single session day on Thursday, March 12
- Millburn Schools will be closed Thursday, March 12 so that staff can prepare for the possibility of distance learning due to the Coronavirus
- Montclair Schools will be closed Friday, March 13 for professional development in case of a prolonged closure
- Trenton Schools will be closed for students Thursday, March 12 and Friday, March 13
- East Brunswick Public Schools will be closed through at least Sunday, March 15
- Middlesex Borough Schools are closed Friday, March 13
- South Brunswick Schools will have remote learning Thursday, March 12 and Friday, March 13
- South River Public Schools will be closed Thursday, March 12
- Wayne Schools are closed Friday, March 13 for “extensive cleaning”
- Hillside Schools will be closed Friday, March 13 for cleaning
- Monmouth University canceled all classes {face-to-face, hybrid and online} through Friday, March 13
- Princeton University is moving all lectures, seminars, and precepts to virtual instruction beginning March 23; Students are encouraged to stay home after spring break
- Wayne Township Public Schools will be closed Friday, March 13 for staff to have dedicated collaborative time to plan for possibility of school closure related to COVID-19
- Cranford schools will be closed Friday, March 13 so teachers can develop education plans
- Montclair Public Schools will close Friday, March 13 for a staff development day to prepare teachers for remote learning, should it become necessary to close schools
- Trenton will close public schools on Thursday, March 12 and Friday, March 13
- Rutgers will cancel class from Thursday, March 12 through the end of spring break on Sunday, March 22. Classes will be remote from March 23 through at least April 3
- Bergen Community College is closed for spring break and will remain closed through March 20
- Montclair State University is extending spring break through March 22. Classes will resume online on March 23 and remote learning will continue for the rest of the semester
- Caldwell University is suspending classes through March 23
What New Jersey’s State of Emergency means
On March 9, 2020, the Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency in New Jersey.
“The State of New Jersey is committed to deploying every available resource, across all levels of government, to help respond to the spread of COVID-19 and keep our residents informed,” Gov. Murphy said in an offiical statement.
Declaring a state of emergency is usually used in extreme weather situations, such as hurricanes, and mostly has to do with organizing and distributing state money, employees, and employing resources to help mitigate effects of the emergency event. When a state declares a state of emergency, it can receive financial assistance from the federal government to help people and communities that have been affected by the emergency.
If you have questions or concerns, New Jersey has set up a statewide Coronavirus Information Hotline at 1-800-222-1222. You can also contact the West New York Health Department at 201-295-5070.
PS: If you live in Hoboken, here’s all the Coronavirus information you need to know.
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