New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy recommended a statewide curfew on Monday, urging residents to stay in their homes from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Everyone needs to stay in and be safe,” Murphy said in a phone call with Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York and Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut. All three announced a number of joint tri-state measures aimed at combating the spread of the coronavirus.
Murphy said taking the extra step of asking for a curfew for all nonessential travel was necessary because he saw too little social distancing in his state, which has more than 100 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
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“I saw too many videos last night of packed bars, people passing bottles drinking from the same bottle, literally globbed on top of each other,” he said on Sunday. “In short of shutting the entire state down, clipping establishments by a number of hours each night in particular we believe will have a meaningful, positive outcome in terms of social distancing.”
Around 9 million people live in New Jersey.
The three tri-state governors agreed Monday to restrict crowds to 50 people or less, limit restaurants and bars to takeout and delivery only, and close all movie theaters, gyms, and casinos. The new restrictions are effective as of 8 p.m.
Gov. Larry Hogan also announced the same restrictions for Maryland, with his state’s new guidance being implemented at 5 p.m. on Monday.
Curfews have already been implemented on the local level, including in Hoboken, New Jersey. Puerto Rico implemented an overnight curfew on Sunday.
Other states such as Ohio, Illinois, California, and localities have instituted restrictions on crowd sizes and have begun announcing closures of bars and restaurants. President Trump declared a national emergency on Friday. There have been at least 3,813 cases and 69 deaths in the United States as of early Monday afternoon.
