Newark restricts businesses again to curb Covid spike

Restaurants must close at 8 p.m., salons open by appointment only

Newark puts restrictions on businesses amid spike in Covid-19 cases (Getty)
Newark puts restrictions on businesses amid spike in Covid-19 cases (Getty)

New Jersey’s largest city has shut down again — partially.

Newark has seen an alarming spike in cases, causing city businesses to be put on semi-lockdown for the first time since March, beginning Tuesday at 8 p.m., Bloomberg reported.

But this shutdown looks different from before, according to the New York Times.

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Under the order, restaurants and other nonessential businesses must close to indoor customers at 8 p.m. daily. Hair and nail salons may stay open by appointment only and health clubs must close down for 30 minutes each hour to sanitize equipment. Parks within one ZIP code, 07105, are off limits for sports.

The three-day average rate of positive tests last week was slightly over 11 percent, more than double the statewide rate.

“It was a smart move to act early — absolutely,” Shereef Elnahal, chief executive of University Hospital in Newark, told the Times. “You have Halloween and you have Thanksgiving a short time after that. We really have to get ahead of making sure people know that they shouldn’t gather indoors.”

[NYT] — Sasha Jones