With each passing day, more and more Coronavirus-related news comes to light. This time around, we’ve got some good news to share. Today, following an executive order from New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy from last week, non-essential retail businesses have reopened for curbside pickup businesses, non-essential construction began, and drive-in events are allowed to happen again. Here are the details:
The Executive Order
On May 13th on Twitter, NJ Governor Murphy announced that he’s signed an executive order that will allow for a series of non-essential activities + businesses to slowly reopen and begin starting today, Monday, May 18th.
Today, I signed an Executive Order to allow
✅The restart of non-essential construction, effective 5/18
✅Non-essential retail stores to reopen for curbside pickup, effective 5/18
✅Drive-in events under social distancing guidelines, effective immediatelyhttps://t.co/zrKRpDowuz pic.twitter.com/qFlx0bijEa— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) May 13, 2020
Under the order, non-essential construction can pick up again {you’ll remember that all of it ceased on April 10th}, non-essential retail stores can reopen for curbside pick up, and drive-in events that transpire under social distancing guidelines can happen.
See More: Latest Jersey City + Hoboken COVID-19 Updates as of May 13, 2020
“I’ve been clear that data will determine dates, and what we are seeing gives us confidence that we can begin the careful restart of our economy. Over the past eight weeks, New Jerseyans have taken our stay-at-home order seriously and have created the conditions that make this next phase possible. The steps we are taking allow for important standards of social distancing to continue with the return of safe, responsible business operations,” Governor Murphy said via NJ.gov.
This news comes just a few weeks after Governor Murphy announced a six-point plan for “responsibly reopening New Jersey.”
What This Means
Under this order, according to NJ.gov, this means a number of things.
Regarding non-essential construction, every construction project must follow social distancing, sanitization, and safety requirements detailed in the official executive order here.
As far as non-essential retail stores, curbside pickup of items will be allowed, but in-store operations of these businesses must remain closed with no customers allowed in. When delivering goods for curbside pickup, social distancing guidelines must be followed — “requiring workers to wear cloth face coverings when in contact with other workers or customers and gloves when in contact with goods or customers,” according to NJ.gov.
Finally, drive-in car gatherings will be permitted. This includes drive-in religious services, drive-through farms, drive-in movies, and other drive-in-friendly events. According to NJ.gov, the gatherings will be subjected to guidelines such as:
- – Attendees must remain in their same car throughout the gathering, unless 1) an occupant needs to get out of the vehicle for their health or safety or 2) an occupant needs to use the restroom;
- – The vehicle must remain closed at all times unless 1) there is six feet of distance between other vehicles or individuals or 2) an officer, public official or guard requires the vehicle to open. There is a further exception allowing the opening of the vehicle if necessary for health or safety;
- – Individuals organizing the gathering who are not in vehicles must follow social distancing and wear cloth face coverings; and
- – To the degree that a gathering requires pre-payment, or seeks donations of any kind, contactless options for pre-payment or donation, such as online or by telephone, must be offered wherever feasible.
For a full copy of the executive order, go here. Please do note that the Governor has yet to undeclare New Jersey’s State of Emergency, which he extended for an additional 30 days last week.
Currently, New Jersey has 148,039 cases of COVID-19, with 17,574 right here in Hudson County.
Read More: A List of Non-Food Businesses That Are Reopening in Hoboken + Jersey City
Local Happenings
Of course, this news will affect businesses right here in Hudson County, and as that information is available from local officials, we will share it.
{Photo credit: @hobokenfarmersmarket}
Select parks in Hoboken have started to reopen as of May 8th, the Historic Downtown Jersey City Farmers’ Market returned for business on Monday, May 11th, and the Hoboken Farmers’ Market in Church Square Park announced last week that it will be officially returning to the Mile Square on June 2nd.
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