Newark stay-at-home advisory goes into effect

NEW JERSEY - The City of Newark's coronavirus positivity rate has been hovering around 20%, prompting Mayor Ras Baraka to issue a 10-day stay-at-home order that began Wednesday evening.

While the shelter-in-place advisory is unenforceable, the city has also implemented a 9 p.m. weekday curfew and 10 .m. weekend curfew in three zip codes, including the city's Ironbound neighborhood where sixty people have died from COVID-19 and more than 4,000 have tested positive.

To enter the targeted zip codes after curfew, people will need to show proof of residency or an essential task.

"Help us save lives," Baraka said in a Facebook Live appearance.

The first night of the stay at home advisory falls on Thanksgiving Eve, traditionally the biggest bar night of the year in the nation, and Baraka thanked the city's bars for closing down to help fight the spread of the virus.