New Jersey City Imposes Strict Curfew in Attempt To Contain Coronavirus

Two New Jersey cities want people off the streets as they deal with the outbreak of the coronavirus in their communities.

in Hoboken, a curfew has been imposed to stop residents from congregating in bars and restaurants. In Teaneck, all residents are being asked to self-quarantine.

“There are people that don’t understand that this is something we haven’t seen since World War II,” said Teaneck Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin, according to NorthJersey.com.

Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla went further after a bar fight Saturday triggered him to act, according to WPIX.

“The City of Hoboken is doing everything possible to advance social distancing, including preventing large gatherings anywhere in the city. The health and safety of residents is my number one priority,” Bhalla said in a statement, according to Patch. 

“As I’ve mentioned before, these are extremely challenging times, and we are seeing a substantial uptick of positive COVID-19 cases throughout New Jersey and throughout the world. The time is now to enact proactive policies that will help save lives in the long run. We’ve asked families with children to be a part of social distancing by closing our schools. We must all now do our part,” he said in the statement.

“I completely recognize that these measures will result in substantial changes and inconveniences to our daily lives. However, these measures are being taken to save lives and protect our residents. I strongly urge residents to continue to take every measure possible in order to practice social distancing, washing your hands, and sanitizing all surfaces.”

The Hoboken curfew bans resident of the 53,000-population city from going out between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. until further notice.

The only exceptions are for those going to and from work and for emergencies.

Hoboken, which announced on Friday that it had its first resident test positive for the virus, according to WPIX, is also shutting down dining rooms and bars.

The city is also ordering all bars and restaurants to offer delivery and takeout only to keep the coronavirus from spreading. If a bar does not offer food, it will no longer be permitted to operate or serve alcohol under the new order.

“It’s going to be tough. The high rents and the empty stores that are already here,” said Mike Citarella, owner of the Pig & Parrot liquor store and pub, according to WNBC. “We’ll never survive on just pickup and delivery.”

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a liberal Democrat, said Sunday that a statewide curfew was “under consideration,” but was not yet being adopted, according to WNBC.

Hameeduddin called for the community-wide self-quarantine in Teaneck after 18 residents of the 41,000-population community tested positive for the virus. 

“We don’t have enough test kits, every day more and more people will be getting sick. We need everyone to understand that they can infect someone or someone can infect you,” he said.

“When I say, ‘stay home,’ that doesn’t mean go out to lunch with your friends across the street. That means no playdates, that means your nuclear family stays with your nuclear family,” he said, according to the New York Post.