Borgata Casino Postpones Reopening Following Governor Murphy’s Orders

Published: 01/07/2020

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Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa announced on Monday to delay reopening plans after Governor Phil Murphy ordered to postpone the reopening of dine-in restaurants due to the fast spread of the novel coronavirus.

New cases all over the country caused state leaders to impose stricter health and sanitation protocols in their aim of curving the spread of the deadly virus.

There are more than 10,000,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus worldwide, including half a million dead. In the US alone, nearly three million got infected, while more than 130,000 lost their lives. The New York Times reported that New Jersey currently has at least 173,521 cases of novel coronavirus with more than 15,000 deaths.

The virus spread in the country unprecedentedly, after states decided to allow businesses to continue.

The government advised everyone to be cautious and follow the health advisories of the health regulators. However, the fast spread of the virus showed that people are not serious about the rules imposed by the government.

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Borgata prioritizes customer’s health

MGM Resorts International said in a statement that its property in New Jersey, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa remains closed in respect to the decision of the governor to postpone indoor dining reopening. The statement said they feel it necessary to shut down the business since they cannot provide the level of hospitality that meets the demand of their clients.

The statement also added that the company’s top priority is the safety and health of employees and guests. The company said they regret that thousands of their employees couldn’t go back to work, but they are looking forward to the safe time to continue with their operations.

The state is currently on the Second Phase of its reopening plan, in which, indoor dining should have been part of the businesses to resume work. The state leader decided to cancel the reopening after seeing bars and restaurants open business, not following the government-mandated health and safety protocols.

The governor saw people crown in bars and dine-in restaurants, not wearing masks and not following social distancing protocols. In the original plan, dine-in restaurants could operate at 25 per cent of their capacity limits. Tables should have a required distance of 6 feet, and employees should wear masks at all times.

Governor Murphy urges everyone to be cautious

The governor said during a coronavirus briefing that he believed that pushing forward to the reopening of indoor dining is not timely since the virus spreads faster in closed places than in open areas. The governor said data from other states showed that the number of cases increased when they started opening indoor dining establishments since people tend to seat closely without wearing face coverings.

He said he decided to impose the new rules after observations from establishments all over the state. The state leader now asks everyone to cooperate and follow advisories from health regulators.

Casinos in the state are mandated to strictly impose wearing of masks, practice social distancing, and regularly clean the facilities.