the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, At 2:00 p.m. today, Governor Phil Murphy will issue an executive order concerning the COVID-19 public health crisis, which will impose the following restrictions to slow the spread of the virus:
-Closure of ALL pre-K, K-12 schools, colleges, and universities beginning 3/18.
-Closure of ALL casinos, racetracks, theaters, gyms.
-Closure of ALL non-essential retail, recreational, & entertainment businesses after 8:00 PM.
-Banning gatherings of 50 or more people.
-All bars and restaurants are closed for eat-in services effective 8:00 PM tonight. After 8:00 PM, these establishments may open for takeout and delivery services ONLY, until further notice. These restrictions exist during daytime hours.
-All pre-K through grade 12 schools (public, private, and parochial) and all colleges and universities will close effective Wednesday, March 18th until it’s deemed by health officials to be safe for in-person classes to resume.
-Starting tonight, all non-essential and non-emergency travel in New Jersey is strongly discouraged between the hours of 8:00 PM AND 5:00 AM. This will remain in effect for the foreseeable future.
-Essential businesses which are necessary for the public’s health, safety, and welfare – like supermarkets and grocery stores, pharmacies, medical offices, and gas stations – may remain open past 8:00 PM.
-Effective 8:00 PM tonight, all movie theaters, gyms, casinos, and racetracks will close entirely until it is deemed safe for their reopening. Online gaming will continue.
-Effective tonight, all other non-essential retail, recreational, and entertainment businesses MUST CLOSE after 8:00 PM. During daytime hours, these businesses may remain open if they limit their occupancy to no more than 50 persons and adhere to social distancing guidelines.
We do not take any of the steps we’ve announced today lightly. We know that these will impact residents and families, communities, and businesses. But our paramount concern is to #FlattenTheCurve – these steps will ensure we do not overload our health care system.
We’ll make sure to provide you with the executive order as soon as it becomes available.
