JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground

HTML

<div id="cursor-block"></div>
<div class="container">
    <a href="/">How can I act like this bar is not here and act on events (e.g. hover, click)?</a>
</div>

CSS

#cursor-block {
    background: rgba(0, 0, 0, .075);
    position: absolute;
    top: 0;
    bottom: 0;
    width: 15px;
    z-index: 2;
    pointer-events: none;

}
.container {
    background: #ddd;
    border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;
    font-family: 'helvetica', 'arial', sans-serif;
    height: 80px;
    line-height: 80px;
    text-align: center;
    position: relative;
    z-index: 1;
}
.container:hover {
    background: #ccc;
}
.container a:hover {
    color: black;
}

JavaScript

jQuery(function($) {
    var cursorBlock = $('#cursor-block');
    $(document).on('mousemove', function(e) {
        cursorBlock.css({
            left: e.pageX - 7
        });            
    });                
});