A new coronavirus curfew was declared in Newark, New Jersey starting Tuesday, Oct. 27, after the number of coronavirus cases began to spike.
All non-essential businesses and dine-in restaurants must close by 8 pm. Outdoor dining must close by 11 pm. Salons will be required to be open by appointment only. All gyms must close for 30 minutes every hour to sanitize.
All parties and family gatherings are discouraged, and Halloween activities should be restricted to celebrations at home this year, said Mayor Ras Baraka.
Newark City Hall is to be open solely by appointment only. All recreation centers are closed except for school programs for essential employees. Sports and park activities in the East Ward are canceled at least until November 10, when a reassessment will take place, said Governor Phil Murphy.
NEW: We’ve received 1,223 new positive test results, for a statewide cumulative total of 229,684.
Bergen, Essex, Middlesex, Passaic, and Union counties are each reporting at least 110 cases today. pic.twitter.com/oeGGoGBEiL
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy)
“This is not the first time COVID-19 has threatened our city and its residents at this magnitude and once again, we will meet this challenge with determination and guided by data,” Baraka said in a statement.
“We are Newark strong and can get through this together. We did it once before and we can do it again.”
The city’s positivity rate stands at 11.2 percent over a three-day rolling average period, compared to the statewide three-day positivity rate of 5.28 percent.
On Sunday, a total of 672 city residents had lost their lives to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, and more than 10,000 had contracted the virus. Officials said the rates had not been as high since mid-May.