NY, NJ, Connecticut to close bars, eateries to fight virus

NEW YORK — Bars and restaurants will become takeout-only and businesses from movie theatres to gyms and beyond will be shuttered Monday night throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut because of the coronavirus, the states’ governors said.

The governors said essential businesses such as supermarkets and gas stations will be able to stay open after 8 p.m. Monday, though all non-essential businesses must close. Restaurants will be able to offer take-out and delivery.

The steps mark the latest escalation of efforts to keep people apart in the New York metropolitan area in hopes of curbing the spread of the virus, and an attempt to co-ordinate a regional response in the face of what the states’ Democratic governors called lagging federal action.

“We’ve got to work through this together. The feds have been asleep at the switch,” Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont told reporters on a conference call.

He and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy are Democrats.

New York City bars and restaurants were already set to shut their dining rooms and take up their barstools Tuesday morning, under a plan that Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sunday.

Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts and Washington state also are among places that have ordered bars to close and restaurants to stop dine-in service.

Jennifer Peltz, The Associated Press