Gov. Phil Murphy announced Wednesday that there are 162 new cases in New Jersey, bringing the state total to 427 including a 5-year-old.
Murphy announced that two additional patients have died from COVID-19, as five people have now died from the coronavirus.
The governor has taken emergency measures in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. These include the closure of schools. Also, indoor shopping malls have been ordered to shut down.
Murphy’s executive order included the following:
- Banning gatherings of 50 or more people.
- All public, private, and parochial preschool programs, elementary and secondary schools, all charter and renaissance schools and institutions of higher education beginning Wednesday.
- All casinos, concert venues, nightclubs, racetracks, gyms, fitness centers and classes, movie theaters, and performing arts centers must close at 8:00 p.m. Monday.
- All other non-essential retail, recreational, and entertainment businesses must close after 8 p.m. Monday.
- All restaurant establishments, with or without a liquor or limited brewery license, are limited to offering delivery and/or take out-services only. No dine-in service will be allowed.
In Bergen County, public meetings will be limited to four people, except for families. The county executive is also implementing an 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew, which is two hours longer than the state’s curfew.
You can read: Governor Phil Murphy bans events with more than 250 people to fight coronavirus
“Where necessary, we will override local or county actions to make sure that we are consistent,” said the governor.
However, Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes expressed his preoccupation about the county executive’s rule that puts a 50-person limit in supermarkets.
“You’re going to have elderly people waiting outside four or five hours, and it’s just not efficient to use even with social distancing,” he said. “These are biblical times. We are facing something that a generation before us hasn’t faced, and our children are watching us. We have to make sure that we preserve life.”
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