As of today, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is urging residents to stay home from 8:00PM until 5:00AM. This news comes today after Gov. Phil Murphy “announced an extraordinary action of recommending a statewide curfew for his 9 million residents to attempt to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus,” according to NorthJersey.com.
The news comes after Hoboken, which has set a precedent for the rest of the nation, issued a citywide curfew that went into effect today. Here’s what you need to know about these statewide changes.
The Time Constraints
As of Monday, March 16th, NJ Gov. Phil Murphy has strongly urged that residents, amidst the growing coronavirus outbreak, home between 8:00PM-5:00AM. “All non-essential and non-emergency travel in Jersey is strongly discouraged…This will remain in effect for the foreseeable future. We want everybody to be home, not out,” Gov. Murphy said.
In a press conference on Monday afternoon, he clarified to tell the public that this is not a curfew.
Additionally, movie theaters, gyms, and casinos will be closed as of 8:00PM tonight and will stay closed until further notice, according to Pix11.com.
#BREAKING: NY, CT and NJ are taking joint regional action to reduce the spread of #COVID19:
Effective 8PM TONIGHT:
-Crowd capacity reduced to 50
-Restaurants/bars will be takeout/delivery ONLY
-Gyms closed
-Movie theaters closed
-Casinos closed— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 16, 2020
The state is working in conjunction with New York and Connecticut as part of “regional action,” according to NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
See More: A Note from Hoboken Police Chief Ken Ferrante
To slow the spread of #COVID19, I’m ordering:
•Closure of ALL pre-K, K-12 schools, higher ed insts. beginning 3/18
•Closure of ALL casinos, racetracks, theaters, gyms
•Closure of ALL non-essential retail, recreational, & entertainment bizs after 8pm
•Banning gatherings of 50+ pic.twitter.com/mmZe0bZWgb— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) March 16, 2020
Other Statewide Closures
Gov. Murphy has also issued that all public and private schools throughout the state of New Jersey close their doors as of this coming Wednesday, March 18th, according to NJ.com.
“All schools in New Jersey, public, private, parochial from pre-K through grade 12, and all colleges and universities will close effective Wednesday, March 18th,” Gov. Murphy said in a tweet.
Additionally, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission has announced that it will also be closed to protect public health, according to its website. The NJ MVC is anticipating to re-open on Monday, March 30th.
Other Local Curfews
On Saturday, March 14th the City of Hoboken announced it would be implementing a citywide curfew from 10:00PM-5:00AM, which has gone into effect today, March 16th. Additionally, the Mile Square has limited all restaurants to takeout and deliver options only and has asked for the mandatory closure of all fitness facilities via the city’s Office of Emergency Management.
“Additionally, OEM is implementing a city-wide daily curfew will in effect from 10 pm through 5 am, effective Monday, March 16th until further notice. During this curfew, all residents will be required to remain in their homes except for emergencies, or if you are required to work by your employer,” Mayor Ravi Bhalla said in an official statement sent out by Nixle alert.
Read More: Hoboken Bars + Restaurants Ordered to Close, Citywide 10PM Curfew Instated, Says City of Hoboken
Today, Mayor Fulop of Jersey City also issued a citywide closure of bars, movie theaters, night clubs, malls, gyms, fitness centers, and more. Mayor Fulop said in a statement via his Facebook page:
“We were the first in the country (last week) to implement any restrictions on any sort establishments in the city and being that social distancing is the best solution we will be expanding our limitations to different establishments.
This morning we are taking the steps via executive order to expand our restrictions that were implemented last week.
Effective noon today the following establishments will be closed:
– bars and nightclubs that do not serve food
– movie theaters performance centers, malls
– gyms, fitness centers, barber shops, day care centers, nail salons, non urgent medical offices including, dental offices, physical therapy clinics, chiropractor offices, and all state licensed cosmetology establishments.”
He also said that restaurants will be prohibited for providing dine-in services and will be strictly limited to “to do to take-out, delivery, drive-through” services.
Of course, this is an ever-developing story, so we will keep you updated as more news becomes available.
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