North Bergen Releases COVID-19 Regulations for Local Businesses, Announces Inspections and Enforcement Action
NORTH BERGEN, N.J. — Township officials are releasing a list of COVID-19 social distancing regulations for local businesses and calling on business owners and managers to observe these rules in order to protect both employees and customers. The directives are part of an executive order signed by Governor Phil Murphy. The North Bergen Police Department and Health Department will be conducting inspections to ensure compliance with the orders, and will be issuing summonses to non-compliant businesses if necessary.
“In order to reduce the spread of the virus and keep our residents safe, it’s important that we all do our part and that includes making sure our local businesses are following the rules,” said Mayor Nicholas Sacco. “The essential businesses that have remained open during this crisis must take steps to ensure that their employees and customers are safe, and we will take action if necessary to make sure that they do. This is a situation where lives are at stake and we will take these directives very seriously in order to keep our residents safe.”
The regulations include the following:
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Occupancy must be limited to 50% of the stated maximum store capacity
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Hours of operation must be established for senior citizens and high-risk individuals wherever possible
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Physical barriers are required between customers and cashiers/baggers, or six feet of distance between those individuals
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Six feet of spacing must be demarcated in check-out lines to demonstrate appropriate spacing for social distancing
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Workers and customers are required to wear cloth face coverings while on the premises, except where doing so would inhibit that individual’s health or where the individual is under two years of age
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Workers are required to wear gloves when in contact with customers or goods. (Businesses must provide, at their expense, face coverings and gloves for their employees)
To report violations of these directives, call the North Bergen Police Department at 201-392-2100.
The Township of North Bergen has taken numerous actions at the direction of public health officials to limit the spread of Coronavirus, all of which are accessible on the township website’s dedicated Coronavirus Updates page. Residents are encouraged to follow the township’s social media pages, which are available in both English and Spanish and are updated multiple times per day with new information.
Any residents with questions should call the State’s Coronavirus hotline or visit its dedicated website:
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Coronavirus Hotline 1-800-222-1222
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Website: covid19.nj.gov