Full Notification

To the Residents of Teaneck-
To mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and protect the capacity of New Jersey’s health care system for the State’s most vulnerable, and to strengthen the existing social distancing measures in place, Governor Murphy issued Executive Orders 107 and 108 today which announces a Statewide Stay at Home Order, and further Closure of All Non-Essential Retail Businesses. The rules and requirements of these Executive Orders take effect tonight, Saturday March 21, 2020 at 9pm.

Executive Order 108 (2020) emphasized the need for uniformity in the rules being applied to the Citizens and Businesses of New Jersey. Governor Murphy has declared that to provide clarity of action to the general public, to avoid duplication of efforts, to prevent unnecessary use of critical resources, and to ensure accurate and prompt communications with emergency personnel and the public, the State of New Jersey’s response to the COVID-19 crisis must be handled by a unitary management structure. In order to create the unitary management structure, Executive Order 108 invalidated, subject to a very limited set of exceptions, any local, municipal or countywide restrictions which are inconsistent with the statewide restrictions set forth in the Executive Oder 107.
Executive Order 107, which is very similar to the Executive Order issued by the Township on March 15, 2020, sets for the following restrictions:
1. All New Jersey residents shall remain home or at their place of residence unless they are:

1) Obtaining goods or services from essential retail businesses, as described in Paragraph 6;
2) Obtaining takeout food or beverages from restaurants, other dining establishments, or food courts, pursuant to Paragraph 8;
3) Seeking medical attention, essential social services, or assistance from law enforcement or emergency services;
4) Visiting family or other individuals with whom the resident has a close personal relationship, such as those for whom the individual is a caretaker or romantic partner;
5) Reporting to, or performing, their job;
6) Walking, running, operating a wheelchair, or engaging in outdoor activities with immediate family members, caretakers, household members, or romantic partners while following best social distancing practices with other individuals, including staying six feet apart;
7) Leaving the home for an educational, religious, or political reason;
8) Leaving because of a reasonable fear for his or her health or safety; or
9) Leaving at the direction of law enforcement or other government agency.

2. When in public, individuals must practice social distancing and stay six feet apart whenever practicable, excluding immediate family members, caretakers, household members, or romantic partner
3. Individuals who must travel pursuant to Paragraph 2 should only use public transportation only if they have no other feasible choice. Individuals who ride public transportation should abide by best social distancing practices, including making all efforts to stand or sit six feet away from other riders and frequently use sanitizing products.

4. Gatherings of individuals, such as parties, celebrations, or other social events, are cancelled, unless otherwise authorized by any part of this Order. The State Director of Emergency Management, who is the Superintendent of the State Police, shall have the discretion to make clarifications and issue orders related to this provision.

5. The brick-and-mortar premises of all non-essential retail businesses must close to the public as long as this Order remains in effect. Essential retail businesses, listed below, are excluded from this directive and may remain open during their normal business hours.

Essential retail businesses must, wherever practicable, provide pickup services outside or adjacent to their stores for goods ordered in advance online or by phone. Additionally, online and telephonic delivery services are permitted to the extent the retail business is authorized to operate an online or telephonic delivery service under existing law. The State Director of Emergency Management, who is the Superintendent of the State Police, shall have the discretion to make additions, amendments, clarifications, exceptions, and exclusions to this list:

a. Grocery stores, farmer’s markets and farms that sell directly to customers, and other food stores, including retailers that offer a varied assortment of foods comparable to what exists at a grocery store;
b. Pharmacies and alternative treatment centers that dispense medicinal marijuana;
c. Medical supply stores;
d. Retail functions of gas stations;
e. Convenience stores;
f. Ancillary stores within healthcare facilities;
g. Hardware and home improvement stores;
h. Retail functions of banks and other financial institutions;
i. Retail functions of laundromats and dry-cleaning services;
j. Stores that principally sell supplies for children under five years old;
k. Pet stores;
l. Liquor stores;
m. Car dealerships, but only to provide auto maintenance and repair services, and auto mechanics;
n. Retail functions of printing and office supply shops; and
o. Retail functions of mail and delivery stores.

6. Any essential retail business whose brick-and-mortar premises remain open to the public shall abide by social distancing practices to the extent practicable while providing essential services. These include all reasonable efforts to keep customers six feet apart and frequent use of sanitizing products on common surfaces.

7. All restaurants, cafeterias, dining establishments, and food courts, with or without a liquor license, all bars, and all other holders of a liquor license with retail consumption privileges, are permitted to operate their normal business hours, but are limited to offering only food delivery and/or take-out services in accordance with their existing liquor licenses. If alcoholic beverages are to be sold from a restaurant, dining establishment or bar with a liquor license, such sales shall be 8 limited to original containers sold from the principal public barroom. The on-premises consumption of alcohol is prohibited. All retail sales of alcoholic beverages by limited brewery licensees, restricted brewery licensees, plenary and farm winery licensees (and associated salesrooms), craft distillery licensees and cidery and meadery licensees must be in original containers and must be sold through customer pick up and/or delivered by licensees in accordance with their existing licenses.

8. All recreational and entertainment businesses, including but not limited to the following list, must close to the public as long as this Order remains in effect. The State Director of Emergency Management, who is the Superintendent of State Police, shall have the discretion to make additions, amendments, clarifications, exceptions, and exclusions to this list:

a. Casino gaming floors, including retail sports wagering lounges, and casino concert and entertainment venues. Online and mobile sports and casino gaming services may continue to be offered notwithstanding the closure of the physical facility.
b. Racetracks, including stabling facilities and retail sports wagering lounges. Mobile sports wagering services may continue to be offered notwithstanding the closure of the physical facility.

c. Gyms and fitness centers and classes.
d. Entertainment centers, including but not limited to, movie theaters, performing arts centers, other concert venues, and nightclubs.
e. All indoor portions of retail shopping malls. Restaurants and other stores located within 9 shopping malls that have their own external entrances open to the public, separate from the general mall entrance, may remain open pursuant to the terms and directives of this Order for operating hours and takeout or food delivery services. All entrances and exits to the common area portions of retail shopping malls must remain closed.
f. All places of public amusement, whether indoors or outdoors, including but not limited to, locations with amusement parks, water parks, aquariums, zoos, arcades, fairs, children’s play centers, funplexes, theme parks, bowling alleys, family and children’s attractions.
g. Facilities where personal care services are performed that, by their very nature, result in noncompliance with social distancing guidelines, including but not limited to cosmetology shops; barber shops; beauty salons; hair braiding shops; nail salons; electrology facilities; spas, including day spas and medical spas, at which solely elective and cosmetic medical procedures are performed; massage parlors, tanning salons, tattoo parlors, and public and private social clubs, whether or not they serve alcohol, including but not limited to facilities owned or operated by the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Knights of Columbus, and any other social clubs associated with community service organizations. This excludes any health facilities that provide medically necessary or therapeutic services.
h. All municipal, county, and State public libraries, and all libraries and computer labs at public and private colleges and universities.
9. All businesses or non-profits in the State, whether closed or open to the public, must accommodate their workforce, wherever practicable, for telework or work-from-home arrangements. For purposes of this order, “telework” means the practice of working from home or alternative locations closer to home through the use of technology that equips the individual to access necessary materials.
10. To the extent a business or non-profit has employees that cannot perform their functions via telework or work-from-home arrangements, the business or non-profit should make best efforts to reduce staff on site to the minimal number necessary to ensure that essential operations can continue. Examples of employees who need to be physically present at their work site in order to perform their duties include, but are not limited to, law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and other first responders, cashiers or store clerks, construction workers, utility workers, repair workers, warehouse workers, lab researchers, information technology maintenance workers, janitorial and custodial staff, and certain administrative staff.
11. All public, private, and parochial preschool program premises, and elementary and secondary schools, including charter and renaissance schools, shall remain closed to students as long as this Order remains in effect.
12. All institutions of higher education shall continue to cease such in-person instruction as long as this Order remains in effect. The Secretary of the Office of Higher Education shall have the authority to grant a waiver to allow in-person instruction to students on a case-by-case basis where a compelling rationale to allow such access exists. The Secretary of the Office of Higher Education shall coordinate with institutions of higher education to determine appropriate student housing conditions for those students who reside in on-campus housing as their primary residence.