All restaurants must close indoor premises by 10 p.m. cannot and cannot reopen until 5 p.m., effective Thursday, Nov. 12th. Outdoor dining can continue past 10 p.m., as can takeout and delivery service, according to Governor Phil Murphy, who addressed the media this afternoon at the War Memorial in Trenton.

Murphy made his announcement amid spiking COVID-19 spread, he said.

Heated dining bubbles will be allowed, the governor added.

“These measures are being taken to provide our restaurants with greater flexibility as the weather gets colder,” the governor said.

More restrictions:

All indoor sports create greater teamwide transmission, Murphy acknowledged. “Starting Thursday, all interstate games and tournaments are prohibited for the time being,” said the governor.

“New Jersey is back at levels we thought we left months ago,” Murphy added, in reference to the virus.

Overnight COVID-19 numbers:

2,075 cases, bringing the statewide total to 256,653. Since Thursday, the state has recorded 9,524 additional cases. “This is the first day since June 9th that the total hospitalizations has topped 1,500,” Murphy noted.

“There’s no question the numbers are goin up, and in the wrong direction,” he said.

Eleven additional people lost their lives to the virus, bringing the total number of fatalities to 14,640 confirmed and 1,800 probable losses.

“The second wave is here,” Murphy said.

Having won another six years in office in a walk-over election last Tuesday, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) joined Murphy at the briefing. “Political season is now over; we had an epic election; there were passions on both sides,” Booker said.

“Coming here I saw one erratic driver who had a Murphy 2017 bumper sticker,” the senator added. “At this time that we still see a lot of division in our country, we must unite around common ground.

“We have to continue to work through the fatigue of this virus. We have to wear our masks, and practice social distancing where we can. …I’m heading down to D.C. to work on urgently needed relief for our states. …It is my hope that we put politics aside and work for the people. COVID relief to our communities cannot be a partisan issue. Waiting until January means lives can be lost. It is a moral urgency that when people are unemployed, they receive $600 weekly.”