The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is slated to reverse course on its indoor mask mandate on July 27, according to multiple news reports, saying that those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 should still wear masks indoors when in hot-spot areas.
Gov. Phil Murphy has not indicated whether New Jersey will return to an indoor mask requirement, saying only that he would follow CDC guidance and even then, only if it applied to New Jersey’s public health situation.
“I was asked in an interview earlier today, what’s the appetite for stricter guidelines. And my answer is there isn’t,” he said during a morning interview with SiriusXM’s Business Radio Wharton Business Daily. “People rightfully have had it. Having said that, we got to do the right thing and we will.”
Alexandra Altman, a spokesperson for Murphy’s office, said in an email to NJBIZ that “Gov. Murphy and the New Jersey Department of Health will review the new CDC guidance on masking requirements in response to the spread of the delta variant.”
Under the guidance, people in areas with “high” or “substantial” spreads of the virus should wear masks indoors.
“Gov. Murphy continues to encourage all individuals ages 12 and up to receive the free and effective COVID-19 vaccination to reduce the spread of the virus,” Altman continued.
The CDC guidance is just that, recommendations, and states can decide to adopt them or ignore them entirely.
“[Y]ou have to take into account the reality of what your state looks like, and a national recommendation may or may not be consistent with the facts on the ground,” the governor said during the regular COVID-19 press briefing on July 26.
[Y]ou have to take into account the reality of what your state looks like, and a national recommendation may or may not be consistent with the facts on the ground.
– Gov. Phil Murphy
The CDC guidance comes in response to surges of COVID-19 in New Jersey and across the country. Daily cases and total hospitalizations are at months-long highs, spreading mainly among people who have not gotten the COVID-19 vaccine.
CDC data show Monmouth county as having “high” transmission, while Atlantic, Bergen, Essex, Middlesex, Ocean, Union and Passaic counties are all listed as having “substantial” transmission.
Many public health experts NJBIZ interviewed indicated that, should the governor decide to adopt new COVID-19 restrictions, an indoor mask mandate would be the first logical step–regardless of vaccination status.
Los Angeles and Provincetown have already taken that route this month.
Last year, as the virus first arrived in the nation, states like New Jersey responded by shutting down casinos, restaurants, gyms, salons, non-essential retail, malls, theaters and entertainment. Public gatherings were prohibited, as was non-essential travel.
The restrictions shattered the state economy, but practically all of them were relaxed before the indoor mask mandate was repealed in May.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 9:47 p.m. EST on July 27, 2021, to include remarks from Gov. Phil Murphy delivered during an interview with SiriusXM’s Business Radio Wharton Business Daily and to add Union County to the list of those in New Jersey identified by the CDC as having “substantial” transmission of COVID-19.
"follow" - Google News
July 28, 2021 at 03:11AM
https://ift.tt/3iXDupT
CDC to return to indoor masks, will NJ follow suit? (updated) - NJBIZ
"follow" - Google News
https://ift.tt/35pbZ1k
https://ift.tt/35rGyU8
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "CDC to return to indoor masks, will NJ follow suit? (updated) - NJBIZ"
Post a Comment