By: Wayne Parry
Atlantic City’s casinos will be able to reopen July 2 at 25% capacity, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday.
In a Twitter post, the Democratic governor also said indoor dining can resume on that date, with restaurants also operating at 25% capacity.
The city’s nine casinos have been waiting for a reopening date for weeks, even as casinos in other states reopened.
“We’re delighted to get the reopening date,” said Joe Lupo, president of the Hard Rock casino. “We thank the governor that we’ll be able to be open for the July 4th weekend to meet the demand on the world-famous Atlantic City Boardwalk.”
The governor said additional safety and health guidelines will be released in the coming days for casinos and restaurants.
Many of the casinos have been planning on their own for a reopening, and have adopted measures including increased hand sanitizers and social distancing to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.
But some were planning more stringent measures than others. For example, Hard Rock says it will require masks to be worn by all employees and guests, while some other casinos say they will recommend mask use for guests.
Lupo said he is confident that what Hard Rock was planning on its own will meet — and probably exceed — whatever standards the state imposes.
“Our air filtration is better than most hospitals,” he said.
He also said the casino’s player database will be able to assist health authorities with any contact tracing that may become necessary.
“With 85% of our customers being rated, we can provide details on when the played, for how long, which beverage servers were in the vicinity, which room they stayed in, where they ate,” he said.
Resorts Casinos plans to utilize air ionization, and ultraviolet light as part of its sterilization protocols, and every other slot machine will be disabled to keep guests separated.
Atlantic City’s casinos have been shut since March 16, and revenue has plunged since then.
The casinos had been informally planning to be open in time for the July 4 weekend, a goal Murphy had said he wanted to meet several weeks ago. The holiday is one of the busiest times of the year for Atlantic City casinos.
Salons, barber shops, and massage and tattoo parlors in New Jersey reopened Monday from their COVID-19 pause.
They’re the latest businesses authorized to open shop since the outbreak hit the state in early March. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive order requires that masks be worn inside these businesses and for service to be by appointment only.
New Jersey has had 169,000 positive cases, with a death toll of 12,870. It’s among the hardest-hit states in the country, but the rate of the virus’ spread and the number of people being hospitalized have been falling for weeks.
Murphy has moved the state into Stage 2 of three. He has not said when the third and final stage would begin.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness or death.
In other developments in New Jersey, a state trooper was injured Monday when the trooper’s patrol vehicle crashed with a dump truck on the New Jersey Turnpike, state police said.
The patrol vehicle sustained heavy damage and the truck overturned in the southbound express lanes near milepost 70.7.
The trooper “was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries,” state police tweeted.
The trooper’s name has not been released.
The crash caused delays in the southbound lanes.
The crash was under investigation and no additional information was available.
On Sunday, AP reported that a man was killed and another man wounded in a shooting in Englewood, the third homicide in Bergen County in a week, authorities said.
The two victims had been at a gathering and were found in the roadway opposite Ebenezer Baptist Church following shots reported shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday, the county prosecutor’s office said.
Douglas Perry, 43, of Newark died at a hospital and a 29-year-old man remained hospitalized. Officials said multiple vehicles were struck by gunfire and shell casings littered the ground.
Elsewhere in the county, a 51-year-old Cresskill woman was stabbed to death early Monday and her body dumped in a Teaneck creek. A 19-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl were arrested. A day later and less than a mile away, a Dumont mother of three was stabbed to death, and a man was arrested and charged.
(AP)
