What Can Reopen In Millburn: Short Hills Mall, Playgrounds

MILLBURN, NJ — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy last week announced that playgrounds and amusement parks can reopen Thursday. Malls, including the Short Hills Mall, can open Monday.

While states like Texas and Florida have had to re-close certain businesses and facilities in the last week due to record-topping coronavirus spikes — the governor of Texas ordered all bars to close there on Friday — the numbers are still declining in New Jersey, for now.

On Friday, Gov. Murphy announced 524 additional coronavirus cases and 44 more deaths in the previous 24 hours, bringing the totals statewide to 170,584 cases and 13,060 confirmed deaths.

The virus is clearly still spreading, but new cases have declined steadily since the state's most deadly day, April 30, when 460 New Jerseyans had been lost to the virus in 24 hours, or one person every three minutes.

Murphy has said that facilities and businesses in the state must reopen carefully, in phases, to prevent spikes like in other states that reopened earlier.

Local reopenings

Bob Zuckerman, who is president of Downtown New Jersey, said Friday, “We are thrilled to see our businesses opening up again. We handled COVID-19 the right way here in New Jersey by using data and science to drive our decision-making. While it’s been a rough few months for many of our businesses, we couldn’t be happier that most of them are getting back on their feet."

In her newsletter on Friday, Mayor Jackie Lieberberg noted: "Outdoor dining in the township continues with restaurants able to open to 25 percent capacity indoors, starting July 2. This weekend Main Street will be closed again from 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday night." For more information, see: https://bit.ly/2ZgTNVf

But Gov. Phil Murphy walked back the indoor dining allowance on Monday, saying crowded bar/restaurants were helping spread the virus. Thus, indoor dining is postponed.

Watch the mayor's newsletters for more specific details and rules about other reopenings.

What about the malls?

The Short Hills Mall said it will open starting Monday, within guidelines.

Paramus Park Mall in Paramus said it will reopen Monday.

The Simon company has been posting updates on its mall websites, like this one for Newport Centre in Jersey City, about the stores at the mall reopening. Check the website for updates.

Some malls in New Jersey have said that children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Other Millburn updates

To read about Millburn business initiatives and other recent coronavirus updates and statistics, click here.

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