Jersey shore businesses fear summer full of restrictions after Murphy's announcement

Some businesses at the Jersey shore are worried after Governor Phil Murphy announced that the state will not be doing any more reopenings "for some time"

Per 6abc Action News:

NORTH WILDWOOD, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Some businesses at the Jersey shore are worried after Governor Phil Murphy announced that the state will not be doing any more reopenings "for some time" because of emerging COVID-19 variants.

"My guess is we won't be opening capacity for some time now because of the caseload," Murphy said on CNN earlier this week.

George Klingos isn't happy. He owns the Vegas Diner & Restaurant in North Wildwood and thinks the restrictions need to end.
"I have to say we're starting to get used to bad decisions by Governor Murphy," said Klingos.

He says they need to be at full capacity by the summer season.

"A summer season at 50% would probably mean another hardly surviving year. (Murphy) follows the example of states that have done terribly. He does the same thing like California," said Klingos.

Klingos adds he's still not over Murphy's decision to cancel indoor dining during last year's 4th of July weekend.

"He fooled us all and made us buy thousands of dollars of merchandise before 4th of July and then we had to get rid of it and lose all that money," said Klingos.

But it's not just Klingos. Many other restaurant owners we spoke with at the shore Tuesday night feel that way.

"I can't do this again. Last year was a disaster to everybody," said Enrique Vasquez with the OC Grilled Cheese in Ocean City.

He too says it's unlikely they'll survive another summer season with only 50% capacity allowed inside.

"We can't really go on much longer," said Vasquez. He fears many small businesses could fold around the shore under these current restrictions.

"You have Walmart, Acme, ShopRite, Home Depot, Lowe's and they're loaded with people every day. So what's the problem at this point? You're going to hurt us real bad," he says.

Murphy has cited numbers that the state is "still uncomfortably too high," including a daily positivity rate that averages 7% and 2,000 coronavirus patients in hospitals, when explaining why the state has been cautious in its reopening plans.

"We have the same concern," he told CNBC Friday. "We know we've got the New York variant, the UK variant, I guess the Brazil variant. We are part of the same reality a year ago. The densest part of the nation, we are the densest state in the nation, right on top of the New York Metro reality. Invariably, what hits them will hit us and vice versa. So we are watching that, all of that, very closely."

1 year, 9 months ago

Governors in Iowa, North Dakota and Alabama join GOP colleagues in banning TikTok for state employees

The Republican governors of three more states have joined the growing number of GOP governors who are banning TikTok among state government employees amid security concerns about the Chinese-owned social media platform

1 year, 9 months ago

Arizona Governor Creates Shipping Container Border Wall

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has had hundreds of double-stacked shipping containers topped with razor wire placed on the state’s border with Mexico

1 year, 10 months ago

Stacey Abrams’s Georgia Nonprofit Could Face Criminal Investigations for Unlicensed Fundraising

New Georgia Project's charity license has lapsed in at least nine states

1 year, 10 months ago

Biden says ‘more important things’ than border visit, despite 59 trips to Delaware, 8 stops for ice cream

Biden has yet to visit southern border despite historic crisis under his watch

1 year, 10 months ago

Governor Kristi Noem delivers annual Budget Address, says the state can afford grocery tax cut

In about thirty minutes of remarks, Governor Kristi Noem laid out her administration would like to see nearly $2.2 billion spent over the course of the next fiscal year and a half.

1 year, 10 months ago

‘A Clear And Present Danger To Its Users:’ South Carolina Gov. Bans State Employees From Using TikTok Amid National Security Concerns

South Carolina became the second state in the union Monday to permanently ban state employees’ electronic devices from using TikTok amid federal officials sounding the alarm that the Chinese-based social media app threatens national security