Restaurateurs and caterers around the state admit to feeling a sense of anxiety about the effects of the delta variant on their businesses, as delays in restoring supply chains and labor shortages continue to plague the industry and hinder its full recovery.

When its business dried up, InCharged - which sets up branded cell phone charging stations at music festivals, trade shows, and other large-scale events - switched gears with its disinfection technology subsidiary LuxDisinfect.

For No. 69 on the NJBIZ Top 250 Privately Held Companies list Del-Sano Contracting Corp. revenue from 2020 was, despite obvious challenges, better than most years due to the continuation of "essential" projects, said Angelo Del Russo, who started his construction company in 1975, including a building associated with New Jersey City University in Jersey City and another for Felician University in Rutherford.

“The current trajectory of new infections shows some of the fastest spread of COVID that we have seen since the spring of 2020,” said New Jersey Hospital Association President and CEO Cathy Bennett. “The new variants are more contagious. We encourage everyone to get vaccinated to stop the spread of COVID-19 and avoid further impact to our schools and businesses, as well as our patients, visitors and health care professionals.”

The Montclair eatery is the second establishment in the state to ask patrons to show proof they've been inoculated in order to dine indoors.

Two South Jersey Democratic state senators are signing on to a mostly Republican-led effort to use American Rescue Plan money to prevent an increase in N.J. employers' unemployment levy.

“Vaccines are going to be your ticket back to shows, and as of Oct. 4 we will be following the model we developed for Lollapalooza and requiring this for artists, fans and employees at Live Nation venues and festivals everywhere possible in the U.S.,” President and CEO Michael Rapino said in a weekend interview with NBC.

Spread over three years, the first increase - meant to replenish the state's unemployment fund after more than 2 million people filed jobless claims over the past 17 months - takes effect on Oct. 1. All told, employers could be on the hook for nearly $1 billion.

With the pandemic dragging into its 17th month, insurers, lawyers and businesses said they’ve grown anxious about the looming prospect of litigation. The fear is of a surge of suits by customers or employees against businesses, alleging that they caught COVID-19 at a particular establishment, whose owners failed to take the necessary precautions to prevent illness.

Events up and down the Garden State are beginning to require the inoculation for admission, as lagging rates fuel a surge in the highly contagious delta variant.

New applications seeking economic aid for live entertainment small businesses, nonprofits, and venues will be accepted until until 2:59 a.m. EST on Aug. 21. Thus far, the SVOG program has awarded $8.4 billion in grants to more than 10,800 cultural institutions.

The program, according to EDA head Tim Sullivan, will “provide new resources tailored specifically to help business owners recover from the impacts of the pandemic and prepare for long-term success.”