COVID-19 cases and deaths are soaring in New York and New Jersey, prompting President Trump on Saturday to consider a short-term quarantine for the tri-state area — New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Around March 10, New Jersey residents started to reduce their mobility around their respective communities, all because the government asked people to stay home as confirmed cases and deaths increased. On March 21, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy ordered all residents to “stay at home” to flatten the curve and reduce infections to prevent hospital systems in the state from being overwhelmed.
The changes in the travel of New Jersey residents have been monitored on a new app called “Social Distancing Scoreboard,” which tracks the GPS location of smartphones in a geographical area, to make sure people are abiding by the government enforced public health order. The app gives the state an “A” for its residents following the rules.
With that being said, stunning drone footage of Newark Avenue, one of the busiest streets in Jersey City, was uploaded to YouTube on Saturday morning. The short video shows shuttered shops and the overall area resembling a ghost town. The video confirms the Social Distancing Scoreboard app’s finding of how many residents in the state have reduced travels. During the video, maybe two people were spotted.
New Jersey closed all non-essential business one week ago. The state’s Attorney General’s Office said anyone who doesn’t abide by the public health order could face criminal charges.
Murphy called up the National Guard on Friday evening, as it appears a lockdown of the tri-state area could be next, as per President Trump’s comments on early Saturday.