N.J. to reopen indoor dining Friday | Coronavirus Newsletter

TL;DR: Indoor dining can return to New Jersey this Friday, Gov. Phil Murphy announced, provided that restaurants operate at 25% capacity and with distancing between tables. Additionally, movie theaters and other indoor performance venues are allowed to open that day. As more indoor spaces prepare to reopen this fall, infectious-disease experts say we don’t need to be quite so fanatical about cleaning surfaces. The main route of transmitting the coronavirus is through the air.

— Kelly O’Shea (@kelloshea, health@inquirer.com)

🏠 Pennsylvania’s eviction moratorium ends today, and Gov. Tom Wolf’s office confirmed he does not have the legal authority to extend it during the pandemic.

🦉 With more than 100 positive cases of the coronavirus, Temple University announced Sunday that it would shut down in-person classes for at least two weeks.

📸 A widely circulated photo of Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney dining inside a Maryland restaurant over the weekend drew criticism from local restaurateurs who say the city’s shutdown has been too restrictive. Kenney issued an apology Monday on Twitter.

🔢 A number of U.S. states and cities have allowed restaurants to resume indoor dining at 25% capacity. But is that number based in science? The Philadelphia Health Department said it could be “arbitrary.”

🎓 Haverford, Swarthmore and other small schools in the region hope their size and somewhat self-contained campuses will help them fend off the coronavirus.

💰 About 44,000 Pennsylvanians still have pending unemployment claims, despite staff working 280,000 hours of overtime to handle the surge since the pandemic began, state officials said.

📰 What’s going on in your county? We organized recent coverage of the coronavirus pandemic by local counties mentioned in the stories to make it easier for you to find the info you care about.

📈The coronavirus has swept across the Philadelphia region and cases continue to mount. The Inquirer and Spotlight PA are compiling geographic data on tests conducted, cases confirmed, and deaths caused by the virus. Track the spread here.

Indoor dining can return to New Jersey this Friday, Gov. Phil Murphy announced, provided that restaurants operate at 25% capacity and with distancing between tables. But not all restaurant owners are pleased. Dominic Piperno, owner of Hearthside in Collingswood, criticized Murphy’s timeline. “And now he’s gonna give restaurants four days notice to restaff, order everything that you would need to order, get sanitation stations, and get your restaurant’s indoors clean?” Piperno said. Movie theaters and other indoor venues can also resume operations Friday, the governor said.

As more indoor spaces prepare to reopen this fall, infectious-disease experts say we don’t need to be quite so fanatical about cleaning surfaces — at least not to the extent that it distracts from the main route of transmitting the coronavirus: through the air. My colleague Tom Avril explains the complex science of air flow and how to tell if an indoor space is adequately ventilated.

At a farm in Lititz, Pa., rare, curly-haired pigs known as Mangalitsas are raised to produce succulent meat that’s often likened to Japan’s famed Kobe beef. The Hungarian pigs fatten up by foraging acorns on Elizabeth Farms’ pastures and drinking milk from a local dairy. A couple of times a week, cuts of pork, sausages, and charcuterie are delivered to Philadelphia-area restaurants and homes. Here’s where you can find Mangalitsas on menus throughout the city.

♻️ Garbage collection is back on schedule in Philadelphia. The Streets Department advised residents to put out trash and recycling on their regularly scheduled day.

🦕 To do this week: Take your kids to the Jurassic drive-through at the Wells Fargo Center or the Philly drive-in screening of Trolls.

💉 Here’s where to get a flu shot across the Philadelphia region, and how it’ll work.

Have a social distancing tip or question to share? Let us know at health@inquirer.com and your input might be featured in a future edition of this newsletter.

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