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Coronavirus Updates: NJ Is Monitoring Beach Crowd Sizes
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 18, 2020
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 18, 2020
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This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Saturday, July 18th, 2020. Previous daily updates can be found here, and up-to-date statistics are here.
New York City is in Phase 3 of reopening now, which includes nail salons, tattoo parlors, and massage facilities as well as recreation like tennis and basketball courts; dog runs are also reopening. A look at preparing for the spread of coronavirus is here, and if you have lingering questions about the virus, here is our regularly updated coronavirus FAQ. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.
Here's the latest:
- Manhattan Rents, Still Ludicrously Expensive, Dip Slightly
- East Village's Odessa Restaurant Not Actually Closing, Just Renovating, Owner Says
With a heat wave starting this weekend, New Jersey officials are going to be keeping an eye on crowding at the Jersey Shore.
Last Sunday, police shut down the beach at Long Branch; NJ.com reported, "Though a sign encouraged social distancing, via staying at least 6 feet apart amid the coronavirus pandemic, beachgoers were crammed together in many locations...The sand got so crowded that some were putting their chairs on the boardwalk."
NJ Governor Phil Murphy warned earlier this week, "The ability to social distance is somewhat related to how many bodies there are in a given plot of real estate. If we don’t manage capacity at beaches and we can’t get social distancing, we’re probably playing with fire."
On July 8th, Murphy enacted an order requiring people to wear masks outdoors if they cannot socially distance.
Long Branch officials argued that the issue wasn't so much that the beach was crowded, it was just that people were concentrated closer to shops and restaurants. "Long Branch decided against restricting daily badge sales, which cost $5 during the week and $7 on weekends, in favor of monitoring the sand with a drone from above, closing access points when social distancing isn’t possible and re-directing people to the emptier parts of the beach, [Long Branch Business Administrator ] Jackson said. The town has had to do so only twice since the season began, he said," according to NJ.com.
However, Masaquan and Belmar have decided to limit the number of beach badge sales this weekend.
Murphy also expressed overall worries about containing the spread of coronavirus. During his Friday press conference, he brought up the transmission rate, also known as the Rt or R-naught, "This means that each new positive case is leading to one more positive case. We need to get Rt back down, to where we are actively slowing the rate of spread of this virus.”
NJ has had 176,551 cases and over 15,000 probable and confirmed deaths.
Murphy also had feedback for those in the state who are unhappy about not having indoor dining and other businesses back up and running: "Believe me, I want to get to gyms, I want to get to indoor dining, I want to get to theaters. But we can’t do it if we think we’re gonna have a likelihood of killing people.”
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COVID-19
covid-19 updates
coronavirus
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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