TRENTON, N.J. (1010 WINS) — New Jersey public school students will not be required to wear masks this fall, barring any “dramatic change” in the the state’s COVID-19 numbers, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday.
Schools across the Garden State will reopen for full-time, in-person learning when the 2021-2022 school year kicks off, Murphy said at a news briefing Monday afternoon.
When that happens, face coverings will not be mandatory, “unless a school district requires masking as part of its own protocols” and “absent any dramatic change in our situation before the beginning of the school year,” the governor said.
New Jersey reported four new COVID-19-related fatalities on Monday, bringing its death toll to 23,740, Murphy said.
As of Sunday night, 304 New Jerseyans were hospitalized with confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases, 57 of whom were in intensive care, he added.