Amid a spike in coronavirus infections in New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy is enacting new statewide restrictions on indoor dining.
“A second wave is here,” said Gov. Murphy. “This is our reality.”
Starting Thursday, November 12, the following new rules will apply to all New Jersey restaurants, bars, and lounges.
- No indoor dining between 10pm to 5am at restaurants, bars, clubs, and lounges.
- Outdoor dining, takeout, and delivery services may continue past 10pm.
- Casinos must stop serving food/drinks at 10pm.
- All barside seating will be prohibited.
- Restaurants may place tables closer than 6 feet only when separated by barriers.
- Individual fully-enclosed dining bubbles may be set-up for outside use.
Earlier in the month, state officials stated that the majority of new infections were coming from at-home gatherings. However, new evidence suggests that there’s been an increase of spread to patrons seated at bars and among bartenders, which is why barside seating is being banned.
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“We are taking surgical steps that we hope will help mitigate the current increasing rate of spread,” said Gov. Murphy. “We are acting with more precision-based actions based on what we’re seeing on the ground.”
In addition to these dining restrictions, Gov. Murphy is also prohibiting all interstate games and tournaments for indoor youth sports (up to and including high school). It’s simply not safe for teams to be crossing state lines at this time to participate in indoor competitions, said Gov. Murphy.
On Monday, New Jersey reported 2,075 new positive COVID-19 cases. Since March 4th, the state has seen a total of 256,653 cases and 14,640 deaths.
