Murphy unveils N.J. school mask mandate as some parents protest. He says mask opponents are ‘lying.’ – NJ.com

Insisting it’s “the right thing” to do to combat a new rise in COVID-19, Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday announced New Jersey will mandate students in preschool through 12th grade, as well as staff members and visitors, to wear masks inside all schools when the new academic year begins.

Murphy unveiled the executive order at an elementary school in East Brunswick, where more than a hundred protestors — including many parents with their children — gathered outside to loudly oppose the move. They repeatedly shouted, “My child, my choice!” And they carried signs reading, “Unmask our kids!”

“This is not an announcement that gives any of us or me personally any pleasure,” said Murphy, who appeared alongside a handful of health and education professionals who endorsed the move. “But as the school year approaches, and with the numbers rapidly increasing, it is the one that we need to make.”

Murphy added that “anyone telling you that we can safely reopen our schools without requiring everyone inside to wear a mask is quite simply lying to you.”

“Because we can’t,” the Democratic governor said.

The announcement comes just weeks before New Jersey’s 2021-22 school year is set to start with statewide in-person classes for the first time in 17 months.

Murphy held firm that all 600 school districts in the Garden State are still on track to open for full-time in-person instruction, without a virtual option. He noted state officials “remain steadfast in the recognition that our children learn better in a classroom setting tailored for their educations.”

But he said masks are needed because of the “recent and rampant spread” of the delta variant of COVID-19, because no children under the age of 12 in the U.S. are eligible to be vaccinated yet, and because ”too many” older children remain unvaccinated.

New Jersey’s coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths are still well below the pandemic peaks, and numbers overall here are not as bad as other states. Still, the state’s seven-day average for newly confirmed positive tests is now 1,109 — five times higher than a month ago — as the highly transmissible delta variant surges across the country. Hospitalizations have more than doubled in that time. New Jersey on Friday reported another 1,249 confirmed coronavirus cases and seven additional confirmed deaths.

The mask requirements apply to all public, private, parochial, charter, and renaissance schools and to anyone inside those buildings, regardless of vaccination status. Murphy said schools will not be allowed to opt out of the mandate.

This is the second time Murphy has shifted on masking students. The governor, who is running for re-election in November, said in May that face coverings would be likely in the 2021-22 academic year.

Then, he announced in June the state planned not to have a statewide requirement for masks in school and would instead leave it up to individual districts to determine their own rules on face coverings. But numbers at that time were lower, and Murphy said mask plans could change quickly if they deteriorate “dramatically.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also announced last month it’s recommending everyone in K-12 schools in America to mask up to fight the delta variant. The American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends face coverings. And the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, has backed the CDC’s guidance on masks.

Murphy said Friday he doesn’t plan this to be a “permanent decision,” and he will lift it if there’s a “meaningful improvement” in the state’s data. He stressed more people getting vaccinated will help.

It’s unclear when children under 12 will be authorized for the vaccine. State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said 46% of children 12 to 18 in New Jersey have gotten their shots and the state will make a push to increase that figure in the coming weeks.

Murphy appeared alongside numerous health officials who endorsed the decision, citing how the delta variant is driving up cases and hospitalizations across the country, including in children.

Dr. Jeanne Craft, president of the New Jersey chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said “a hopeful spring has become a worrisome summer.”

“We need to move forward with an abundance of caution,” Craft said. “We have come so far, but we need to continue to rely on scientific evidence and expert advice to keep children, teachers, school staff and communities as safe as possible.”

Seven children in New Jersey have died due to the virus during the pandemic.

As Murphy’s motorcade approached the building Friday, the protestors chanted, “We will vote you out!” One held a sign that read, “King Murphy … leave our kids alone!”

Constantine Papasavvas of Whitehouse Station questioned the science of the governor’s move. He noted that of the more than 615,000 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., 358 are of children.

“There’s no reason for my child to be muzzled and wear a mask all day in school,” Papasavvas said, adding he will send his child back to school without a mask.

“If they want to kick him out for not wearing a mask, then they’ll kick him out, and then we’ll file a lawsuit,” he said.

Numerous Republican officials also expressed dismay Friday, stressing it’s less likely for children to catch serious COVID-19 cases. Some argued masking can have negative psychological effects on kids.

New Jersey, home to more than 1 million students, has reported 281 COVID-19 outbreaks linked to in-school activities, causing 1,263 cases, according to state data.

Murphy’s Republican opponent in November’s race, former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, said it should be up to parents, not the governor, whether children wear a mask.

“They should feel free to do so, but it’s not something that should be forced on children, nor should their learning be inhibited in any way,” Ciattarelli said.

State Sen. Steven Oroho, R-Sussex, called the move “a clear overreaction.” State Sen. Michael Doherty, R-Warren, said the move “has little to do with public health and much to do with politics,” arguing Murphy is bowing to the NJEA, a major supporter.

But Cheryl Brass, an East Brunswick resident with two children under age 12, said she was “thrilled” and “relieved” by the decision.

“I was scared up until now: How was I going to send my children to school being unvaccinated?” Brass said. “We need to get them back at school full-time. And this is the safest and easiest way to effectively do so.”

Stephanie Silvera, an epidemiologist and public health professor at Montclair State University, said it’s “simply not true” that children can’t catch severe coronavirus cases and emphasized that kids remain vulnerable because they’re not yet eligible for shots.

Officials also note that even if children don’t catch serious cases, they can still be carriers of the virus and pass it to teachers, friends, and family members.

“It’s not particularly fun or comfortable to wear masks,” Silvera said. “And we need to build in opportunities for kids to go outside through the day without masks. But if we’re gonna have everyone back into classrooms, where we know most schools social distancing is not even a possibility because our schools are crowded, the best protection we do have is mask wearing.”

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Similar to the past academic year, Murphy announced there will be exceptions for masks in school:

• When doing so would inhibit someone’s health, such as exposure to extreme heat.
• When someone has trouble breathing, is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a mask without help.
• When a student’s documented medical condition or disability precludes use of a mask.
• When someone is under 2 years old.
• When someone is engaged in an activity that cannot be performed while wearing a mask, such as eating and drinking or playing an instrument that would be obstructed one.
• When someone is engaged in high-intensity aerobic or anaerobic activity.
• When a student is participating in high-intensity physical activities during a physical education class in a well-ventilated location and able to maintain a physical distance of 6 feet from all other individuals.
• When wearing a mask creates an unsafe condition in which to operate equipment or execute a task.

Students will have to take masks off during lunch. Murphy said the state has made a number of suggestions to districts to address that, including using other rooms beside the cafeteria to spread students out and staggering lunch times.

Patrick Murray, the director of the Monmouth Polling Institute, said Murphy would likely face more political fallout if he made the opposite decision. Murray said polling has consistently shown “wariness” among Democrats on “moving too quickly with loosening these restrictions.”

“In a state like New Jersey, which is heavily Democratic, coming up with a base election, you are less worried about the vocal minority who will come out and protest,” Murray said. They just don’t make up the numbers you need. And the base wants it.”

He also said Murphy isn’t likely to be hurt by Republicans saying he caved to the teachers union.

“It will be Republicans voicing that criticism and Republicans listening to that criticism,” Murray said. “More than two-thirds of Democrats are saying, ‘OK, you lifted the mask mandates earlier this year, but maybe that wasn’t the best idea.’ They’re gonna be happy he’s bringing it back and playing it safe, knowing he can always reverse course.”

Murphy insisted this decision was not about politics.

“Masks got political, but it need not be the case, folks,” he said. “This is a simple step that each of us can take, kids and adults, that meaningfully pushes back against the transmission of this virus, and especially this variant. … Let’s leave the politics at the door.”

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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @johnsb01.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.