New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday that K-12 school students, teachers and staff will have to wear masks at the start of the academic year regardless of vaccination status, a reversal of previous guidance that left mandates up to individual districts.
Mr. Murphy, a Democrat, said it gave him no pleasure to make the announcement.
“But as the school year approaches and with the numbers rapidly increasing, it is the one that we need to make right now,” Mr. Murphy said at an event in East Brunswick.
Mr. Murphy, who is seeking reelection to a second term in November, said in June he did not expect to require masks in schools.
But the COVID-19 situation has worsened because of the fast-moving delta variant. Most New Jersey counties have fallen into “high” or “substantial” transmission categories over the past week.
Nearly 60% of New Jersey’s population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, although children under age 12 are not eligible for the shots in the U.S., shifting the focus to other ways to prevent outbreaks in schools.
Mr. Murphy’s stance follows the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recently advised masking in schools. Scientists believe some vaccinated persons who get a “breakthrough” infection can spread the virus as easily as unvaccinated persons, posing another risk for young children who aren’t eligible for the vaccines.
The New Jersey Education Association, a major teachers union, said it supported Mr. Murphy’s decision.
“It is the prudent, responsible course of action in the face of the resurgence of COVID-19 across the state,” the union’s top officers said. “This is not what anyone hoped for to begin this school year. However, we cannot waver in our commitment to protecting the health and safety of students and staff as the COVID-19 pandemic is surging. Above all, we remain committed to providing our students with the best possible educational experience this year. They deserve it and we are determined to make sure they have it.”
Republican leaders in states such as Texas and Florida are fighting mask mandates in schools.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said parents should choose whether or not to cover their children’s faces and threatened to cut funding to school districts that impose mandates.
The shift in the battle against COVID-19 has caused others to re-think their position. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, signed a bill banning mask mandates in schools but now says he regrets it because of the devastation the delta variant has inflicted in his state.
Atlanta Public Schools recently opened with a mask mandate, though the rest of Georgia doesn’t have a requirement.
Former New Jersey Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican nominee for governor, slammed Mr. Murphy’s turnabout on masks.
“Gov. Phil Murphy has done it again. His decision to require masks for K-12 students is a bewildering reversal of his position of just a few weeks ago. Let me be clear: I oppose Gov. Murphy’s mask mandate for students,” he said.
He said children who get the coronavirus tend to be asymptomatic or have a mild illness, “and wearing masks for children is terrible for their social and emotional development.”
“Bottom line — whether a child wears a mask should be decided by parents, not government,” he said. “If someone wants to have their child wear a mask, they should feel free to do so, but it’s not something that should be forced on children, nor should their learning be inhibited in any way. Finally, this feels like the first step towards another Murphy lockdown, which is something our children, businesses and taxpayers cannot afford or are willing to accept.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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