Democratic New Jersey Governor. Phil Murphy intends to lift the state’s school-mask mandate for children and staff. Murphy will make the announcement Monday at a Trenton pandemic briefing. Fox News Digital was informed Monday morning by an official from the governor’s office that the mandate will be lifted officially on March 7.
Murphy declared a public emergency last month, and last month he renewed the mandate for school masks.
He said that “these requirements again give us no pleasure, but they are the only responsible course to action at this moment,” at the time.
Murphy suggested that schools could be exempted from the mask mandate last week after coronavirus cases plummeted following a spike in the omicron variant.
Murphy stated last Tuesday that Murphy hoped to see a school year when there is no more hiding in schools.
Last year, Murphy’s executive orders that required students to wear masks in school faced a lawsuit. However, a U.S. District Judge denied a request to block Murphy’s December mask mandate. He called the in-school mask mandate “rational.”
Starting Monday, masks were also made optional for thousands of students in 140 Illinois school districts. The state’s judge issued a temporary restraining notice that prohibited the school districts from using masks.
The request was made by the state attorney general for an emergency stay.
