New Jersey’s K-12 students, educators and staff will have to wear masks in buildings when the 2021-22 school year begins, Gov. Phil Murphy said Aug. 6 from Memorial Elementary School in East Brunswick.
“We’re announcing that due to the recent and random spread of the Delta variant, the fact that no child under the age of 12 is yet eligible to be vaccinated, that the reality that too many older students and their parents remain unvaccinated,” said Murphy, “that all students, educators, staff and visitors will be required to wear masks inside a school building, regardless of vaccination status, for the start of the 2021-2022 academic year.”
He added, “This is not an announcement that gives any of us or me personally any pleasure. But as the school year approaches, and with the numbers rapidly increasing, it is the one that we need to make right now.”
Murphy’s decision sits well with AFTNJ President Donna M. Chiera.
“Once again, this virus has demonstrated it can quickly change in a way that impacts the way we all live our lives,” Chiera said. “Cases have been rising again, and now we are seeing more children getting sick — this week came word of COVID-19 cases linked to children attending teen nights held last month on Long Beach Island. So if wearing a mask this fall — staff as well as students — is what’s needed to get our kids back in classrooms and keep them safe, then so be it.
“Gov. Murphy always said he would follow the science,” Chiera added, “and his announcement today proved he is keeping his word. He is putting safety and education over politics. It may not be a popular decision, but for now, it is the right decision so educators and students can get back to teaching and learning.”