N.J. mask mandates mostly going away. But here’s where masks will still be required. – NJ.com
UPDATE: Expect N.J. school mask requirements in fall when full in-person classes resume, Murphy says
The indoor mask mandate New Jersey installed to battle the coronavirus pandemic effectively ends Friday for a vast majority of settings — including restaurants, stores, movie theaters, and dozens of other venues.
But there are still some places where masks will be required in the state, most notably in schools and public transportation.
Gov. Phil Murphy’s latest executive order will takes effect on Friday. It aligns New Jersey with the mask guidance announced earlier this month by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which determined fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks or social distance in most cases.
Those who aren’t fully vaccinated are still encouraged to wear face coverings, but the move shifts New Jersey to the honor system for masks, with no system in place to verify who is vaccinated or not.
But don’t toss your mask stash just yet. Here are the places they’ll still be required:
- Health care settings like hospitals and medical offices
- Public, private or parochial preschool programs and elementary and secondary schools
- Long-term care facilities and nursing homes
- Trains, planes, buses and any other form of public transportation, including at train stations and inside airports
- Any state office building the public might visit, like the Motor Vehicle Commission
- Homeless shelters
- Correctional facilities
- Child-care facilities
- Youth summer camps
- Indoor workplaces closed to the public, including warehouse and manufacturing facilities
In addition, individual businesses can decide if they want to keep indoor mask requirements in place and workplaces can also keep mask mandates. Conversely, Murphy said it would be prohibited for any business to require people remove masks before entering.
Murphy said the indoor mask mandate “will be strictly enforced” wherever they’re still required.
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage
The move is one of several major reopening steps Murphy announced Monday at his latest coronavirus briefing, saying they’re possible “because of the tremendous progress we have made over the last several weeks.”
The governor also announced New Jersey will lift requirements that restaurants, retail stores, personal services, gyms, churches, casinos and more have to keep 6 feet of distance between patrons and groups. The state last Wednesday eliminated fixed, percentage-based capacity limits at those places, but this will allow full capacity without caveats. That includes large outdoor venues like MetLife Stadium.
In addition, the state will end the 30% capacity limit on large indoor venues with a fixed seating capacity of 1,000 or more on June 4, the same day all indoor gathering limits will be lifted.
More than 3.9 million people who live, work, or study in the Garden State have now been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at New Jersey sites. That includes 88,000 out-of-state residents who were vaccinated in New Jersey. Another 167,000 New Jersey residents have been vaccinated in other states.
The state has set a goal of having 70% of New Jersey’s adults vaccinated by the end of June. About 56% of the state’s 6.9 million adults have been fully vaccinated so far, while kids as young as 12 are now eligible to receive shots. More than 188,000 children between the ages of 12 and 17 have been vaccinated in New Jersey.
More than 4.78 million people have received at least their first dose at a New Jersey site — about 52% of the state’s 9.2 million residents.
New Jersey’s coronavirus numbers keep dropping steadily as vaccinations continue to be rolled out. The state’s seven-day average for new confirmed positive COVID-19 tests is now 491 — down 35% from a week ago and 81% from a month ago. That’s the lowest seven-day average since Sept. 25.
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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.