Newark Reopens City Hall After Coronavirus-Related Closure

NEWARK, NJ — Newark reopened City Hall on Monday after temporarily closing the building when asymptomatic employees tested positive for the coronavirus.

Mayor Ras Baraka suggested that local residents and businesses seeking guidance amid the pandemic can take a page from the city’s playbook. Here’s what happened, he said:

“Just as we encourage businesses to test their employees to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, we are making sure that the city’s employees get tested every month as well. With access to rapid testing, we set up a pop-up testing site in City Hall on Thursday, Nov. 12, and a few asymptomatic employees tested positive.”

Baraka continued:

“Under our procedures, any facility that results in two or more positive tests for COVID must be closed for deep cleaning. To both maintain the health of our municipal employees and to set the example for our local businesses, out of an abundance of caution, we immediately closed City Hall on Nov. 12 and kept it closed on Friday, Nov. 13, so that the building could be properly sanitized. Our employees were ordered to work from home, and the building was closed to the public.”

City Hall reopened Monday morning with limited staffing. It will remain open to the public by appointment only.

“We have to continue to be vigilant,” Baraka said. “I urge all Newark residents and businesses to follow our lead and keep themselves safe.”

Newark, the state’s most populated city, has been hit hard by the virus. The city has seen 13,909 cumulative COVID-19 cases and 693 deaths linked to the disease as of Tuesday, according to Essex County officials.

Multiple hospitals in the city have seen recent surges in the number of patients infected with the coronavirus.

• See related article: Essex County Hospitals See Patient Surge; COVID-19 Cases Rise

Last week, Newark officials announced that the city will be tightening up its COVID-19 restrictions and rolling out curfews in some residential “hotspots” until at least December. Other temporary crackdowns will affect sports, large gatherings, visitation in senior housing, religious services and local businesses, officials said.

• See related article: Newark Puts Several Neighborhoods Under Coronavirus Curfews

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