TRENTON, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- Schools across New Jersey are on track to open next week, barring any "unforeseen issues," Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday.
In a news briefing Wednesday afternoon, Murphy said state officials are "confident that the steps we have in place will make the kind of chaotic situations we've seen in other states far less likely to happen in ours."
"Next week, absent any unmet health and safety guidelines spelled out in my executive order from two weeks ago, or any other, please God, unforeseen issues between now and next week, I fully expect that our educators, administrators and support staff will be at the ready," he said.
As of Wednesday, 434 school districts were planning to employ a "hybrid" learning model that combines in-person and remote learning, he said. Sixty-eight districts were planning for fully in-person instruction; 242 were planning to employ all-remote learning; and 22 planned to employ a combination of plans.
"Every school district is unique," he explained. "There are no, and can be no, one-size-fits-all measures."
Murphy on Wednesday also reported 329 new COVID-19 cases and 11 new deaths, bringing the state's case total to 192,595 and its death toll to 141,181.
As of Tuesday, 514 people in the state were hospitalized with confirmed or probable COVID_19 cases, 99 of whom were in intensive care units and 29 of whom were on ventilators, he said.
