Newark 'Stays At Home' As Coronavirus Spreads: 5 Things To Know

NEWARK, NJ — A 10-day “stay at home” advisory and coronavirus crackdown continues in Newark as COVID-19 spreads in New Jersey’s largest city.

Earlier this month, as case totals spiked in Newark, officials rolled out a wave of temporary COVID-19 regulations. They include nightly curfews for some residential neighborhoods and nonessential businesses, and new rules for sports, gatherings, visitation in senior housing and religious services. READ MORE: Newark Puts Several Neighborhoods Under Coronavirus Curfews

Last week, Mayor Ras Baraka asked residents to “stay at home” and all nonessential businesses to close down from Nov. 25 to Dec. 4. The mayor’s request is voluntary, and isn’t a mandatory “lockdown,” such as the one that was held earlier this year at the beginning of the pandemic.

Here are five important things to know about Newark’s recent COVID-19 crackdown.

CASES, DEATHS IN NEWARK

Newark has been one of the hardest-hit municipalities in New Jersey, leading Essex County in cases and deaths by a wide margin as of Monday.

Last weekend, Newark officials said that there is a 21 percent positive COVID-19 rate in the city, which is twice the state average.

According to county statistics, Newark had 15,934 cumulative cases of COVID-19 – about 45 percent of the entire county’s total. Newark also had 709 cumulative deaths linked to the disease, about 35 percent of the entire total in Essex County.

There are 282,011 people living in the city, according to the U.S. Census’ most recent population estimate.

HOTSPOTS

City officials have identified several hotspots where the COVID-19 positivity rate is soaring.

Officials recently said:

"Based on testing information for Newark from October 25 to October 31, which counts each test, the city's positivity rate is 16.3% and the highest rate continues to be in the East Ward (32.5% in zip code 07105), as well as in the North Ward (18.1% in zip code 07104 and 15.4% in Zip Code 07107)."

The East Ward of the city continues to see high infection rates, with a 41 percent positive COVID-19 rate being reported as of Saturday, public safety officials said.

CURFEWS/RULES

Most Newark businesses are facing a mandatory curfew under the city’s temporary regulations, which are stricter than the state’s rules.

All nonessential businesses must close at 8 p.m. every day. All restaurants, bars and lounges must close their indoor service at 8 p.m. and outdoor service at 11 p.m.

All restaurants, bars, businesses and offices must follow face mask protocols.

For now, residents who live in some parts of Newark – but not all – will be expected to stay off the streets after 9 p.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. on weekends. The mandatory curfew will be "strictly enforced," but there will be exceptions for people traveling to or from work or if there is an emergency, officials said.

The residential curfew will only apply to certain areas of the city:

• In 07104, the boundaries are 7th Avenue to 2nd Avenue and from Broadway to Clifton Avenue
• In 07105, this is the entire area, not including the airport or the highways
• In 07107, the boundaries are 3rd Avenue North to Berkley Avenue. North 3rd Street to 11th Street

Other mandatory rules that Newark residents must follow include:

• Gatherings and events are limited to no more than 10 people
• Senior housing buildings residents are allowed one, non-essential visitor per unit per day
• Attendance for religious services is restricted to 25 percent capacity

ENFORCEMENT

Newark’s COVID-19 task force, which includes police, firefighters and code enforcement officials, has been enforcing the local crackdown.

During the first two days of Mayor Baraka’s stay-at-home advisory, the task force handed out eight tickets to businesses over the Thanksgiving holiday. Workers were allegedly spotted serving customers without face masks and other personal protective equipment, officials said.

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

Another local crackdown took place over the Halloween holiday at several bars and lounges. Most of the locations were in violation of not wearing masks and social distancing, although fire and code violations superseded the citations.

Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose chastised patrons and owners of the establishments for "not taking the pandemic seriously."

• See related article: Newark Bars Accused Of COVID-19 Violations On Halloween Weekend

Meanwhile, on Nov. 20 and Nov. 21, the city closed down streets leading into the East Ward of the city near zip code 07105. Residents who live in the affected area were allowed to travel for essential needs, officials said.

• See related article: Nighttime COVID Street Closures Planned For Newark's East Ward

Many residents have been supportive of the enforcement efforts. But some local businesses have pushed back, including a group of more than 20 business owners in the Ironbound section of the city.

Members of the Newark Businesses Association are charging that they’ve been unfairly targeted and “harassed” during the city’s COVID-19 crackdown. The group added that it’s worried about long-term damage to the neighborhood’s reputation, TAP Into Newark reported.

COVID-19 TESTS

Newark has been spearheading ongoing free testing events for local residents.

In addition, Essex County has been holding free COVID-19 testing events in Newark during the pandemic, including regular walk-up testing at Weequahic Park.

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