Non-essential businesses such as barbershops and nail salons have been ordered to close in Hoboken and residents have asked to stay inside as much as they can.
The “self-isolation” policy is the latest in a series of near-daily new measures the city has introduced to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The city will take a “gentle approach” to enforcement but wants people to maintain a six-foot separation in public and to not cluster in groups of more than five, Mayor Ravi Bhalla said Tuesday afternoon outside City Hall.
“I know this is not easy, but I shudder at the thought of looking back on what we could have done now, knowing that our region could become the next Italy,” he said.
The self-isolation policy will take effect Wednesday at 9 a.m.
The Mile Square City is the fourth densest city in the country. Its typically vibrant nightlife was even more rowdy than usual last weekend night despite warnings from health officials about precautions for dulling the spread of the coronavirus, Police Chief Ken Ferrante said.
“This past weekend we saw a weekend that mirrored spring break atmosphere as if the city of Hoboken was an oasis and that people came here thinking the pandemic cannot touch Hoboken,” he said.
Hoboken currently has five confirmed cases of coronavirus. All of the patients are under 50, according to the city.
In addition to closing businesses, the city is urging houses of worship to temporarily stop in-person services.
Bhalla said he had a phone call with the director of the Harvard Global Health Institute who has said that changing daily routines is important for limiting the spread of the coronavirus.
“Facts are facts and science is science,” Bhalla said. “It’s about time we listen to the science.”