NEW JERSEY – Restaurants and theaters will be opening on Friday, September 4 but only to 25% of their capacity, Gov. Phil Murphy said during one of his daily coronavirus press conferences.
There will be an “exhaustive list” of regulations for restaurants to reopen safely, he said. Among them are:
- No more than 25% capacity
- Parties will be seated in groups no larger than 8
- There must be 6 feet of distance between tables
- Staff must wear masks at all times
- Diners must wear masks when they are not in their seats
- Food and beverages can only be consumed while seated.
Another regulation is that servers will be the only ones who can transport food. A patron can’t walk up to the bar to get something to bring back to his table.
If a business serves food at bars, people must be 6 feet apart.
Air conditioning units must be set so that more outside air is brought in. There should be the minimum amount of recirculated air being used in the building.
“I am proud we are doing this today so our restaurants can welcome customers back for the long holiday weekend,” Murphy said.
Earlier this summer, Murphy had promised to ease regulations on the restaurant industry but then took that away. Other states had reopened restaurants to disastrous effects, he said.
Meanwhile, outdoor seating can continue in the same way it is now. He thanked local officials who enabled outside dining. Since the virus spreads more slowly outside, some patrons will continue to feel more comfortable eating outside.
When it comes to theaters, the reopening applies to movie theaters as well as live performances. Patrons must wear masks unless eating snacks. They also can’t have someone sitting next to them who is not in their family. The capacity is the lesser of 25% or 150 people.
In a multiplex, each theater is counted separately. In other words, theater 1 would have 25% capacity, and so would theater 2. It is not 25% of the entire building.
For religious or political events, the inside capacity will be 25% or 150 people. This is up from 100 people.
The lessening of restrictions comes as most people are following the rules to slow the spread of the virus, Murphy said.
“We know this is a virus of opportunity so let’s not give it any unnecessary opportunity,” he said.
The announcement was made on Monday, Aug. 31. It is unknown if restaurants would have the time to stock their kitchens or hire staff before the Labor Day weekend, or if theaters would have time to hire or schedule programming in that short window.
One of the recurring criticisms of Murphy’s handling of COVID-19 is that when he lifts restrictions, the people most impacted by it have little time to scramble around to make it work.
