New Jersey’s Department of Health released the rules for outdoor dining in the state starting June 15. Along with the guidance, the state’s Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control will issue special permits allowing liquor license-holders to expand their premises for service through mid-October. North-JerseyNews.com
Gov. Phil Murphy believes “it’s a wise thing” for the thousands of New Jersey residents protesting in the wake of George Floyd’s death to get tested for the coronavirus. “If you’re in close proximity, I think you should get tested,” Murphy said. “The notion for a super-spreader is very much the case in a very close congregation of people. We want to make sure folks are being responsible.” The Daily Record
State officials plan to implement a series of actions from Manatt Health’s review to address systemic challenges at New Jersey’s long-term care facilities shown during the coronavirus pandemic and help reduce impacts of future outbreaks. “It is a call for dramatic reforms so the long-term care industry itself can do better—including greater transparency and stronger staffing requirements—reforms critical for achieving our goal of protecting our most-vulnerable residents,” stated Gov. Phil Murphy. North-JerseyNews.com
State officials are not ruling out that the number of deaths associated with COVID-19 is underreported. “In New Jersey, in every American state, in every place in the world, the death toll is almost certainly higher than we think it is,” staed Gov. Phil Murphy, while state epidemiologist Christina Tan confirmed the state’s Department of Health looking at the concept of probable deaths. NJ Spotlight
For the first time since April 5, no new positive coronavirus cases were reported in Cape May County June 3. In another hopeful sign, even as the number of testing locations has increased, the rate of positive tests decreased to 2.5% for the week of May 17 to May 23. NJ.com
The U.S. Senate unanimously cleared legislation modifying the federal loan program designed to help small businesses continue to pay their employees through the coronavirus pandemic. Under the legislation, which now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature, small businesses receiving help under the $659 billion paycheck protection program must spend a minimum 60% of their low-interest forgivable loans on payroll. New York Times
Rutgers University could lay off about 500 hundred dining, maintenance, custodial and public safety workers, according to a coalition of unions at the state university. The university has also given no assurances that about 620 other dining hall workers who typically get furloughed in the summer will have jobs this fall, the unions said. NJ.com
Sen. Cory Booker is calling for a full environmental impact study for New Jersey Department of Transportation’s plans to keep rocks from falling onto Interstate 80. In a recent letter to the Federal Highway Administration, Booker wrote “given the high level of public interest,” he asked the federal agency to work with NJDOT to conduct a more comprehensive environmental impact study. New Jersey Herald
Getinge has agreed to rent office space at the former Toys R Us headquarters in Wayne, moving in by the end of July. The Swedish maker of hospital equipment will take up 45,000-sq. ft. under a 10-year agreement at the 630,000-square-foot complex. Additional, the company intends to open a 20,000-square-foot training facility for employees at the former Toys R Us headquarters in 2021. The Record
Amazon may soon open its second of what one local politician said could be five distribution warehouses in Hudson County. The company plans to create multiple distribution sites in Kearny, including two on Belleville Turnpike and at least one on Central Avenue, Mayor Al Santos said. The Jersey Journal
Two developers for the first construction phase of the Bayfront mixed-income development site in Jersey City were announced. The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency and the Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce formally designated two affordable housing developers, Bayfront Development Partners, LLC, a joint venture of Pennrose, LLC, and Omni America, LLC and BRP Development Group, to implement phase one the Bayfront Redevelopment Plan. Hudson Reporter
And finally…Walt Disney World set July 11 as the reopening date for Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. The Record
