Hoboken And Jersey City: No Local Curfew For Our Bars

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop released a joint statement Wednesday afternoon saying that their cities — popular among the bar and restaurant crowd — will operate without a coronavirus curfew as of Friday, after Gov. Phil Murphy said he would lift the current 10 p.m. restriction on bars and restaurants starting that day.

Bars in both cities will have to shut each night at the normal closing times. In Hoboken, that's 3 a.m. on weekends (patrons may not enter after 2 a.m.)

A spokesman for Bhalla's office said the restrictions will be lifted the same day as the state restrictions are lifted. The change will come at the start of Super Bowl weekend.

In a press conference Wednesday morning, Murphy announced that limits on indoor gatherings will increase to 35 percent, up from the current 25 percent, effective 8 a.m. on Friday. Murphy announced that restaurants will be permitted to stay open past 10 p.m. READ MORE: Gov. Murphy To Loosen NJ's Indoor COVID-19 Rules

Last spring, Mayor Bhalla was one of the first mayors in the region to institute local coronavirus curfews.

"Based on guidance provided by Governor Murphy and the State of New Jersey, we have made the joint decision to allow bars and restaurants to operate during normal, regular business hours without a local curfew," the mayors said in their statement.

They added, "Businesses must continue to follow the capacity restrictions and social distancing requirements put forward by the State. We trust that if Governor Murphy believed a curfew was necessary, it would still be in effect. But recent analysis from our health departments, as well as information provided by the New Jersey Health Department, suggests that a curfew at this time may no longer be necessary."

They said, "This time around, we believe that a coordinated regional approach is the best way to implement safety measures, when necessary. Our public safety officers and city staff will be aggressively monitoring all bars and restaurants during overnight hours to ensure COVID-19 safety precautions are being taken at all times. If not followed, any bar or restaurant will be subject to immediate penalties, including but not limited to closure. We thank the large majority of business owners for continuing to take the necessary precautions to keep our residents and visitors safe when patronizing their establishment."

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The total death toll from the virus in New Jersey is now 19,455. Gov. Murphy said Tuesday that he is seeing declines in the hospitalization rate, but is keeping an eye on new strains of the virus that are said to be more contagious. Still, hospitals in the Garden State are currently treating 2,892 covid patients, with 516 in ICU and 366 on ventilators. He said 297 patients were admitted to hospitals due to the virus on Monday.

As of Tuesday, 446,000 Americans had died of coronavirus.

Anthony Bellano contributed reporting to this piece.

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