Hoboken Mayor Ravinder S. Bhalla is implementing a strict curfew and limiting Hoboken restaurants and bars to take out and delivery. The curfew will go into effect Monday, March 16 as the city races to protect its residents from coronavirus spread. To date, Hoboken has only one known coronavirus case. As of early Sunday, New Jersey has a total of 69 positive cases.
“These are challenging times & we’re seeing substantial uptick of COVID-19 cases throughout NJ & the world. The time is now to enact proactive policies that will save lives,” tweeted Mayor Bhalla.
The city-wide daily curfew will last from 10pm to 5am. During this time, residents must remain in their homes except for emergencies or if you’re required to work by your employer.
Mayor Bhalla states he is also implementing these restrictions to help alleviate the number of calls flooding EMS. In a written statement, Mayor Bhalla indicated that police had to wait over 30 minutes for EMS to arrive after a bar fight broke out in a downtown Hoboken bar over the weekend.
What do the Hoboken curfews and restrictions mean?
The curfew is meant to prevent house parties and clusters of people from forming, explains Councilperson-at-large Emily Jabbour in a tweet. In other words, yes, you can still walk your dog at night or go out for fresh air. As long as you’re not doing it with a group of people.
For restaurants, it means they can only offer take-out or delivery to customers.
Here in Jersey City, Mayor Steven Fulop has stated that he currently has no plans to implement such restrictions. “My belief still is that we try to maintain as much normalcy as possible within basic guidelines of social distancing,” tweeted the mayor.
