NJ School Mask Mandate To Continue, Murphy Says

NEW JERSEY — The mask mandate for students and staff in New Jersey's schools and daycare facilities will continue for the foreseeable future, even though the mandate is set to expire Tuesday, Gov. Phil Murphy said during a news conference Monday afternoon.

But how long that extension will last is up for debate, as state lawmakers have said they won’t grant a full 90-day extension of the governor's emergency powers amid a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Instead, the state legislature was set to vote Monday on a proposal for a 45-day extension of certain administrative orders, directives, and waivers issued in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The school mask mandate is among these directives.

"We’re working very cooperatively with the legislative leadership to make sure we have a good pathway forward, particularly given the overwhelming tsunami that we’re dealing with," Murphy said during a news conference Monday afternoon. "It doesn't give us any joy, but the school mask mandate is going to have to stay in place for some amount of time longer."

Murphy didn't elaborate on those talks or how the school mask mandate would remain in effect during the news conference. He did say the reason the mask mandate would remain in place is due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in schools.

"Unequivocally, the mask mandate will continue for the foreseeable future," Murphy said. "Not forever and always, but we cannot responsibly, in the teeth of this tsunami, change gears on this. If you had asked me six weeks ago did I have some hope that on January 11 at midnight, we might be able to shift to a different reality? Yeah, I did have that hope, and we're going to get to that point sooner than later. We will not and cannot get there in the near term."

“We are pleased that Gov. Murphy has committed to this common-sense step to keep public school students and staff safer during this current COVID surge," representatives from the New Jersey Education Association said in a joint statement. "Everyone is eager for the day that masks and other COVID safety measures are no longer necessary, and the best way to achieve that is for New Jersey to continue following all of the school safety measures currently recommended for schools, including masking, social distancing and vaccination for all who are eligible. NJEA will continue to advocate for the measures that are necessary to keep students safe, healthy and learning and that put our state in the best position to finally emerge from this pandemic. We are proud to work with a governor who shares our commitment to protecting our students and providing the safest possible learning environment for them at this challenging time.”

Last week, Murphy requested a 90-day extension for certain measures, which included the continued mask mandate for students, which was reported previously set to expire Jan. 11. Read more here: NJ School Mask Mandate In 2022: Will Gov. Murphy Extend It?

On Monday, 11 new outbreaks were reported in schools for the week of Dec. 28 through Jan. 3, although Murphy noted those numbers were low because there was no school during that period. There were 77 new cases among students, and 32 new cases among staff. Altogether, there have been 384 outbreaks in schools, including 1,890 cases among students and 342 cases among staff since the school year began.

The state legislature was set to vote on a measure to allow a 45-day extension of the governor's emergency powers during Monday's session.

Additionally, the New Jersey Department of Health reported 6,075 COVID patients as of Sunday, the state's highest mark since April 30, 2020. The state's publicly available data for COVID hospitalizations go back to April 28, 2020, when the metrics peaked at 6,253. Read more here: NJ Hits 6K COVID Hospitalizations For 1st Time Since April 2020

The public health emergency that was initially put in place by Murphy at the beginning of the pandemic expired on July 4, 2021. At that time, certain administrative orders, directives, and waivers issued in response to the public health emergency were extended until Jan. 11, but Murphy had until Jan. 1 to request an extension from the legislature.

According to a draft of the proposed legislation, if each House of the Legislature agrees, the emergency powers can be extended.

"Due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in this State, the Legislature concurs with the Governor’s recommendation that certain administrative orders, directives, and waivers issued in response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency be extended and remain in full force and effect until February 25, 2022," the legislation reads, in part.

The resolution also states that the Senate Health, Human Services And Senior Citizens Committee is amending the request from 90 days to 45 days.

State Senate President Steve Sweeney told nj.com the full extension isn’t being granted because the virus "isn’t going away. The people who are vaccinated are vaccinated. And those who aren’t won’t. At this point, we’ve got to learn how to move forward with this."

Sweeney was among the Democrats who were voted out of office in November in what Sweeney called a "red wave," seen as a backlash against Murphy's use of executive orders and emergency powers during the pandemic.

He told nj.com that his loss to newcomer Edward Durr didn't factor into his decision to deny the governor the full extension.

Monday's session was the last of the full legislature as it stands. Those who won state legislative seats in November were set to be sworn into office on Tuesday, ahead of the annual State of the State address.