10-Day COVID 'Lockdown' In Newark Ends; Mayor Says It Worked

NEWARK, NJ — The city’s latest coronavirus “lockdown” worked, Newark’s mayor says.

On Friday, a 10-day COVID-related order from Mayor Ras Baraka will end. The mayor had asked residents to "stay at home" and all nonessential businesses to close down from Nov. 25 to Dec. 4.

The request was voluntary and wasn’t a mandatory lockdown, such as the one that was held earlier this year at the beginning of the pandemic. READ MORE: Newark 'Stays At Home' As Coronavirus Spreads: 5 Things To Know

According to Baraka, the stay-at-home order was effective at keeping people inside and away from large gatherings, which officials across New Jersey have maligned as a major source of infection.

“I want to thank the great majority of Newark residents and businesses that cooperated with our lockdown that began the day before Thanksgiving and ended today,” Baraka said. “Our collective efforts have resulted in early data that shows our positivity rate has dropped and we anticipate further declines when we have data from the full shutdown period.”

The mayor said the lockdown served an important purpose in reminding people the virus is “very active and very dangerous.”

“We also doubled our testing efforts during the period and are encouraged by the numbers of people who got tested, which is evidence that Newark residents are heeding our words to continue to take this disease very, very seriously,” Baraka said.

• See related article: Street Closures In Newark Due To Extra Coronavirus Test Sites

Although most residents and businesses complied with the order to stay at home, 53 local businesses were shut down during the 10-day period for allegedly violating the state’s COVID-19 regulations, Baraka said.

• See related article: Newark Coronavirus Crackdown; 8 Businesses Cited In 2 Days

It’s important for Newark residents to stay safe, Baraka said. But it’s also important that they keep up hope, he added.

“We are going to get to the other side of this pandemic – a vaccine is coming,” the mayor urged. “But the quickest way to stop the spread and keep ourselves safe is to work together as a united city, and the closer we get to the finish line the harder we have to push.”

Story continues below

NEW HOLIDAY RULES

On Friday, Baraka also released a new executive order and guidelines for the winter months and holiday seasons, asking residents not to gather indoors for large family parties and to take the usual precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, including social distancing, frequent hand washing and wearing masks.

Municipal Executive Order (MEO-20-0016) can be viewed here.

A summary of the rules, including protocol for indoor/outdoor gatherings, holiday travel, restaurants/businesses/offices, senior housing, religious services, indoor/outdoor ice rinks, and curfew, follows below.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Newark Facebook page. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Sign up for Patch email newsletters.