Gov. Murphy Says NJ's School & Day Care Facilities Mask Mandate Will Continue

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said today that the state’s mask mandate for students, teachers and administrators in schools and day care facilities will continue.  Due to expire tomorrow, the Governor in his COVID briefing earlier today, did not indicate how long the mandate will remain intact.

Members of the New Jersey Legislature have said they will not grant a full 90-day extension of the Governor’s emergency powers despite a major spike in COVID-19 cases.  Rather, the the lawmakers are set to vote today on a proposal for a 45-day extension of certain administrative orders imposed previously by Governor Murphy.  The school mask mandate is among those directives.

The Governor stated, “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.  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.”