Montclair Extends Indoor Mask Mandate Until Spring, But Adds Exemptions

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Montclair’s 30-day indoor mask mandate has been extended, and will last until the spring. But there are some new exemptions, too.

On Tuesday evening, the Montclair Town Council voted to extend the local mask mandate through March 31. The original resolution would have seen Jan. 21 as the end date for the mandate.

The council has an option to rescind the order in February if the spread of COVID-19 lessens.

Montclair’s indoor mask mandate was reintroduced in December 2021. All local businesses and venues open to the public must require both staff and customers/visitors to wear face coverings over their nose and mouth while they're inside the establishment and within six feet of other people.

Exemptions include children under 2, people with a disability who can’t wear a mask, people who would be put at “risk” at work by a mask, and people who are eating or drinking inside a restaurant or bar. Read More: Montclair Council OKs Indoor Mask Mandate, Cites Omicron Spread

Tuesday’s resolution also adds two new exemptions to the mask mandate:

• People participating in an indoor athletic activity where six feet of distance is not achievable, but a mask is “inhibitory to the activity”
• Performers at indoor live events such as theater, opera, symphony, and choirs may remove masks while actively performing or practicing, though such individuals should “maximize physical distancing as much as practicable”

Watch a video from the Jan. 18 meeting and read the full text of Tuesday’s resolution below.

Montclair businesses that want to download a flyer about the mandate to display for their customers can do so here.

WHEREAS, the Township of Montclair has a compelling interest to protect the health, welfare and safety of residents; and

WHEREAS, due to the spread and threat of COVID-19, particularly the mutations and variants of the virus throughout New Jersey and the Township of Montclair, the Township Council on December 21, 2021, instituted an indoor mask mandate effective for 30 days by Resolution R-21-267; and

WHEREAS, as of January 12, 2022, the CDC has maintained its classification of Essex County, New Jersey, as an area with high community transmission with a case rate per 100 thousand of 2,747.77, representing a positivity rate of 30.26%, an increase of 19.65% since December 20, 2021; and

WHEREAS, the CDC recommends that in order to protect themselves and others from COVID-19 and its variants, people who are not fully vaccinated should wear a mask indoors in public at all levels of community transmission; and specifically recommends mask-wearing indoors in public places designated as substantial or high community transmission regardless of vaccination status; and

WHEREAS, Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 242 allows municipalities to impose additional restrictions, in response to COVID-19, regarding mask requirements for individuals in indoor public spaces.

WHEREAS, Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 163 provides an exception to the indoor mask requirement for individuals engaging in high intensity aerobic or anaerobic activities, and in other situations where the presence of a mask would pose a risk to the individual’s safety; and,

WHEREAS, the New Jersey Department of Health recommends that those involved in high aerobic activity and for whom breathing through a mask is difficult are not required to wear a mask.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Council of the Township of Montclair, that the mask mandate previously established by R-21-267 is extended and shall remain in effect through and until March 31, 2022; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, by the Council of the Township of Montclair that the following exceptions be added to the mask mandate: • a person participating in an indoor athletic activity where a six (6) feet distance is not achievable, but a mask is inhibitory to the activity; and • performers at indoor live events such as theater, opera, symphony, and choirs may remove masks while actively performing or practicing, though such individuals should maximize physical distancing as much as practicable.

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