Hoboken To Close Bars At Midnight Each Night Amid Coronavirus

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said Monday night that because coronavirus transmission rates are rising statewide and citywide, he will sign an executive order "closing all bars and restaurants at midnight, seven days a week" as of this Thursday. Normally, bars in Hoboken may stay open until 3 a.m. on weekends.

The restaurant industry is an economic engine in the mile-square city, where more than 130 liquor licenses have been in use at times.

Bhalla also has asked the City Council to hold a special meeting Thursday to implement an indoor fine of $1,000 for house parties, which the council voted to introduce at a meeting earlier this month.

Hoboken, which has a population of 53,000 people in one square mile across the river from Manhattan, was one of the first cities to start restricting facilities and businesses in March as the virus spread.

There have been a total of 957 known cases in Hoboken since early March. Fatalities in town due to the virus remain unchanged at 31 total, with no new resident deaths since May.

Nationally, 225,000 people have died of the virus, including more than 14,500 in New Jersey. Bhalla wrote Monday night, "As of today, the number of hospitalizations throughout the state rose to 948, with 178 patients in intensive care and 75 on ventilators."

Bhalla said last week that contact tracing has shown that indoor parties are driving some of the rise in transmission. He said at the time, "There have not been any clusters associated with any one location such as a restaurant or gymnasium."

More details

Bhalla wrote in a Nixle alert on Monday evening, "The last thing we want is for Hoboken to be the location where large amounts of people are encouraged to come and party late at night, when social distancing and other health precautions are much less likely to be observed."

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Bhalla wrote, "Some have asked whether or not the city can shut down bars and indoor dining completely and limit to take-out only, as we did for several months earlier in the pandemic. While we did have this authority in the beginning of the pandemic during mid-March as our shut-down orders pertaining to bars and restaurants came under the city’s emergency declaration powers, the state has since issued an Executive Order conferring this authority exclusively upon the states and away from municipalities."

Bhalla wrote Monday that the Hoboken Health Department has reported these new positive cases: Saturday, 11; Sunday, 4; Monday, 3. In late summer, the city had only a trickle of new cases reported each week, for instance, six in one week in August.

$1,000 fine for house parties

The measure before the City Council would fine people $1,000 for hosting a house party with more than 25 people that also violates other City ordinances such as noise regulations or a disorderly house.

Bhalla explained, "This fine would be given to both the tenant, and the property owner at which the violation occurred ... Several residents have understandably asked how we came to the number 25 as it relates to the ordinance. Governor Murphy’s Executive Order regulating indoor gatherings lists 25 people as the maximum allowed in one location, with exemptions including religious or political gatherings, so long as face masks and other health precautions are taken."

New testing information

People can call their physician to get tested for coronavirus, or use two facilities with whom the city has been working:

• Appointments at PromptMD's popup locations can be scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis by visiting http://www.hobokennj.gov/promptmd.
• Appointments at the uptown Riverside testing center at 14th Street, which include walkup and drive-through appointments, can be scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis by visiting http://www.hobokennj.gov/riverside. (These appointments are no longer made by phone via 201-420-5621.)

If a resident has signed up for a test with Riverside but can no longer make it, please call 201-863-3346 to cancel the appointment.

A covid-19 test is recommended at least 5-7 days after a potential exposure, and that many who have contracted the virus do not have symptoms. Receiving a COVID-19 test prior to the 5-7 days after a potential exposure may yield inaccurate results.

If returning from a state on New Jersey’s quarantine list or have had a high-risk exposure, which includes contact of over 10 minutes to someone who has tested positive, living in the same household as someone with COVID-19 or attending a large indoor gathering without face masks, residents should self-quarantine for the full 14 days, even with a negative test result, the city says.

If a resident or Hoboken business employee does not have insurance, the city will pay for the cost of a test through both testing sites.

Here is past Hoboken coronavirus information and updates:

HOBOKEN SCHOOLS

• Hoboken's Wallace Primary School recently closed temporarily after two student cases were confirmed.
• Recently, one of the city's charter schools, Elysian Charter, closed temporarily because a student tested positive for the virus.
• The Hoboken public schools reopened Monday, Sept. 14 remotely, and reopened on-site Sept. 21 for those who requested it.
• The district offered a reopening plan giving parents a choice of either full-time on-site learning (until 3 p.m.) or full-time distance learning. In the buildings, there are restrictions, such as kids wearing masks and maintaining a 6-foot distance.

LOCAL BUSINESS

• More than 50 of the city's restaurants opened the week of June 15 for outdoor dining. READ MORE.
• Some of those have added "streateries" for outdoor dining. READ MORE.
• Two of the city's weekly farmers' markets reopened in June. READ MORE.
• The city has been closing off certain blocks for businesses to expand and draw foot traffic. READ MORE.
• Restaurants in New Jersey can allow indoor dining at 25 percent capacity. Read about Hoboken indoor dining here.
• The city of Hoboken is making it easier for restaurants to continue to offer outdoor dining through the winter months.

HOBOKEN LIBRARY

• See story here.

HOW TO GET HELP WITH HEAT, RENT, AND MORE

• During the State of Emergency in New Jersey, no tenant is permitted to be evicted from their home or apartment for the inability to pay rent. Talk to your local mayor's office if you are experiencing difficulties.
• The CARES act has made money available to help with rent in each city. More information is here.
• New Jersey residents can get help with heating and energy bills. Information is here.
• Various other avenues of relief and benefits have also been made available, including family leave for 12 weeks if you can't work due to your child's school or camp being closed, and changes to unemployment rules to help those who were at a job for a short time, or freelancing.
• Programs are being added constantly, so don't think you can't get help. Reach out to your local mayor's office to find out what kind of funds may be available to help you get through this time.

LONG-TERM CARE

• Recently, there were 159 long term care facilities with active outbreaks, the state Department of Health said this month. The state also announced that deaths at the facilities had more than doubled since May 1. The state has stopped updating the numbers at facilities without current outbreaks.
• New Jersey residents were already alarmed at the high number of residents who have passed away in nursing homes, rehabs, and similar facilities. The state announced plans in May to increase testing at some long term care facilities and to bring in the National Guard temporarily to help make changes.
• The state released death toll statistics late in spring for long-term care facilities like rehabs and nursing homes. See the list here.
• You can report problems with long term care facilities here, or if you suspect coronavirus related misconduct, here.
• Some New Jersey long-term care facilities reopened for limited visits, with precautions, in July.

PAST HOBOKEN AND NJ STATISTICS

• Bhalla had said last Tuesday, Oct. 20, that 22 Hoboken residents had been confirmed as testing positive for coronavirus in a four-day period from Friday to Monday inclusive, for a total of 890 cases in residents since the start of the pandemic. Bhalla said that cases are rising again partly due to indoor social gatherings.
• More than 220,000 Americans and 14,500 people in New Jersey have died from the virus.
At the height of the crisis in New Jersey on April 30, 460 people passed away in 24 hours.
• The mayor recent cautioned residents about indoor birthday parties and traveling to Ocean and Monmouth counties. Story here.
• For an earlier story about Hoboken coronavirus statistics and updates, click here.
• See earlier data here.
• Here are past statistics on Hoboken residents under 16 testing positive for the virus.

TESTING

• Prompt MD has added additional testing. Proof of residency or employment at a Hoboken business is required at the time of testing. Results are anticipated within 24-48 hours of testing.
• Appointments can be scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis by visitinghttp://www.hobokennj.gov/promptmd.
• Riverside Medical is also continuing testing for Hoboken residents at the pop-up site under the 14th Street Viaduct six days a week. Appointments can be scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis by visiting http://www.hobokennj.gov/riverside. If a resident has signed up for a test with Riverside but can no longer make it, please call 201-863-3346 to cancel the appointment.
• A covid-19 test is recommended at least 5-7 days after a potential exposure, and that many who have contracted the virus do not have symptoms. Receiving a COVID-19 test prior to the 5-7 days after a potential exposure may yield inaccurate results.
• If returning from a state on New Jersey’s quarantine list or have had a high-risk exposure, which includes contact of over 10 minutes to someone who has tested positive, living in the same household as someone with COVID-19 or attending a large indoor gathering without face masks, residents should self-quarantine for the full 14 days, even with a negative test result, the city says.

If a resident or Hoboken business employee does not have insurance, the city will pay for the cost of a test through both testing sites.

Here are statewide coronavirus resources:

• NJ COVID-19 Information Hub: https://covid19.nj.gov/
• General COVID-19 questions: 2-1-1
• NJ COVID-19 hotline: (800) 222-1222

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