Indoor dining, non-essential businesses in N.J.’s largest city must close at 8 p.m. as COVID-19 cases spike – NJ.com

Newark is imposing new restrictions on businesses after coronavirus cases climb in the city.

All non-essential businesses and dine-in restaurants must close by 8 p.m. nightly beginning Tuesday, Oct. 27, the city said in a press release on Monday, and Halloween activities are being strongly discouraged.

“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 ahead of an afternoon press conference. “We are Newark strong and can get through this together. We did it once before and we can do it again.”

Newark added 101 new cases on Sunday, more than all other towns in Essex County combined. The city’s positivity rate stands at 11.2% over a 3-day rolling average period, compared to a 3-day positivity rate of 5.28% statewide.

The positivity rate in the Ironbound section of the city was 25%, Baraka said at a press conference.

Rates have not been this high since the middle of May, officials said.

Upticks are not surprising, as businesses reopened and residents felt fatigued by restrictions, Baraka said, noting that people are getting lax about who they are gathering with.

Salons will only be allowed to open on an appointment basis, and all gyms must close for a half hour every hour to sanitize, officials said. Outdoor dining must close by 11 p.m

All parties and family gatherings are also discouraged. Children should avoid going door-to-door for trick-or-treating this Halloween and opt for celebrations at home, Baraka said.

Over 10,000 residents have been sickened during the course of the pandemic, and as of Sunday, 672 Newark residents have died of COVID-19.

In addition to restrictions on businesses, Newark City Hall will be appointment-only, and all recreation centers will be closed to everything except school programs for essential employees. Sports and park activities in the East Ward will be cancelled, Baraka said.

Gov. Phil Murphy said additional contact tracing and testing resources are being sent to Newark, and a multilingual education campaign is underway.

Newark’s new restrictions will remain in place until at least Nov. 10, when the situation will be reassessed.

Further closures of non-essential businesses are not off the table if rates do not decline, Baraka said.

“We are trying to be as methodical as possible, and as cautious as possible, take into consideration people’s economic livelihood, but also the lives of people in this community at the same time, so we can be very thoughtful in making this happen,” Baraka said.

Although Executive Order 108, which bans counties and municipalities from having harsher coronavirus restrictions than put in place by the state, remains in place, Newark’s current restrictions do not fall outside the state’s executive orders, Murphy said.

“If there are any local restrictions that pose an obstacle to the statewide response then we’ll take a look at those. But right now we don’t feel that the steps that Mayor Baraka has taken post an obstacle in any way,” Chief Council Parimal Garg said at Murphy’s coronavirus briefing on Monday.

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Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.