Governor Cites Jersey City Bar As Example Of Problem

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday praised Jersey City officials for cracking down on a bar for alleged violations of coronavirus restrictions. Murphy said, "We cannot move forward [with reopenings] until there is complete compliance."

The Garden State had planned to start allowing bars and restaurants to reopen for indoor dining on Thursday at 25 percent capacity, but Murphy pulled back on Monday, citing coronavirus spikes in other states where indoor dining opened earlier, as well as photos of Jersey shore bars packed with patrons.

This week, New York City also pulled back on a similar reopening.

Both New York and New Jersey were said to be among only three states in the country whose coronavirus precautions were finally controlling the spread — but Thursday, one study said New York State was no longer on track.

Wednesday, Murphy commented about the Jersey City bar, Factory Restaurant and Lounge, on Twitter:

When he posted about it on Facebook, he drew more than 500 comments, some supportive, one asking, "What is this kindergarten punish everyone because one person acts up!"

"I recognize that there are many establishments whose owners, managers and customers have been responsible, but we cannot move forward unless there is complete compliance," Murphy said Thursday. "Throughout every step of our restart, we have been clear that we would not hesitate to hit pause to safeguard public health."

Jersey City Prosecutor Jake Hudnut posted video of the crowd inside the bar on Monday.

A call to the restaurant on Thursday afternoon went unanswered.

But restaurants in New Jersey have been allowing outdoor dining for the last two weeks, with restrictions. And other businesses were able to open this week, including malls and amusement parks: NJ's Reopening Day Thursday: What You Can Do Now Amid Covid 19

On Wednesday, Murphy said there had been 423 new cases of the virus statewide in the previous 24 hours, and 45 more deaths. That meant that the number of cases has risen to 171,928, and 13,224 confirmed deaths.

But this was down from New Jersey's peak: a high of 460 deaths in 24 hours on April 30, or one death every three minutes. Read more: Gov. Murphy: 423 New NJ Coronavirus Cases, 45 More Deaths

This week, Murphy said that people traveling to New Jersey from 16 states now must quarantine for 14 days.

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