Gov. Phil Murphy will announce Monday that New Jersey will lift its indoor mask mandate for fully vaccinated people and follow recent federal guidance in time for Memorial Day weekend as COVID-19 numbers keep declining while vaccinations continue, NJ Advance Media has learned.
The new rules, which follow updated advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will go into effect a week from today, May 28, meaning vaccinated people are permitted to enter restaurants and stores in the Garden State without face coverings for the first time in 14 months, multiple sources with knowledge of the plan told NJ Advance Media.
The move is a reversal for Murphy, who for days stood firm that New Jersey would not ease its indoor mask mandate — at least not immediately — despite the CDC abruptly announcing last week that fully vaccinated Americans can now safely go without wearing masks in most cases.
The CDC still calls for fully vaccinated Americans to wear masks in crowded indoor settings, such as buses, planes, hospitals, prisons, and homeless shelters. Plus, people who are immune-compromised are encouraged to speak with doctors before dropping masks. Officials also noted that some business settings may still require masks, especially since some workers may remain unvaccinated.
A growing number of major retail and restaurant chains, however, have announced they would stop requiring patrons to wear masks following the CDC announcement unless more strict state or local restrictions are in place.
New Jersey was one of the first states to enforce a mask mandate and one of the last to announce it would lift it for vaccinated people.
Unvaccinated people should still wear masks indoors in public, according to the CDC. You are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving a second Pfizer or Moderna vaccine dose or two weeks after receiving the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
In addition, the CDC has recommended all schools should continue to use the agency’s K-12 schools COVID-19 prevention strategies for at least the rest of this school year That includes masks and social distancing. Children under the age of 12 are still not eligible for vaccinations.
Murphy’s decision comes as tourists and residents prepare to flock to the Jersey Shore and other destinations over Memorial Day weekend, traditionally considered the unofficial start of the summer season.
The Democratic governor had hinted in recent days it was likely only a matter of weeks before his administration would adopt the CDC guidance on masks. In the meantime, he insisted the state was “not out of the woods” yet when it came to fighting back the pandemic and needed more time to drive numbers down. He also said it would be unfair to businesses to be the arbiter of checking who was vaccinated and who was not.
New Jersey, an early coronavirus hotspot, has required people wear a mask indoor in public places since April 2020 as the outbreak peaked in the state.
But as the number of new cases and hospitalizations have dropped in New Jersey, so have spot positivity rates and other metrics the administration uses for tracking the spread of the virus. The positive trends is what is promoting Murphy to make the announcement, people with knowledge of his plans told NJ Advance Media.
Murphy’s decision not to relax the mandate in the wake of the CDC’s abrupt guidance change last week sparked blowback as governors from neighboring states quickly adopted the standards. New Jersey has been one of only a handful of states to not comply, even though Murphy had frequently followed or cited CDC guidance before when making decisions.
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Pressed recently on why he stuck with the mandate, Murphy said: “I just don’t want to get burned. I don’t want to go back. … If we can save one more life by leaving more time on the clock, it will have been worth it.”
Murphy did, however, drop the state’s outdoor mask mandate in the wake of the CDC news. People had been required to wear masks outside in the state only when social distancing isn’t possible since July.
Outdoor mask requirements also will still be in place at child care centers and facilities; youth summer camps; public, private, and parochial preschool program premises; elementary and secondary schools; healthcare facilities; long-term care facilities; and state correctional facilities.
More than 3.9 million people who live, work, or study in the state have now been fully vaccinated at New Jersey sites. About a million more people have already received their first dose as of Friday morning.
The state has set a goal of having 70% of New Jersey’s adults vaccinated by the end of June. A little more than 55% of the state’s 6.9 million adults have now been fully vaccinated.
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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
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