New Jersey

NJ ‘Strongly Recommends' Masks Indoors for All in Certain Settings

The guidance comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommended masks again, citing more COVID-19 infections due to the delta variant.

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New Jersey is once again recommending that both vaccinated and unvaccinated people wear masks indoors, following new guidance from federal health officials.

Gov. Phil Murphy and Department of Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli “strongly recommended” people wear masks in settings where there is “increased risk.” The guidance comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommended masks again, citing more COVID-19 infections due to the delta variant.

“Our metrics are trending in the wrong direction, and new data suggests the Delta variant is more transmissible even among vaccinated individuals, which is why we are making this strong recommendation,” Murphy and Persichilli said in a joint statement.

They cited the following as settings that present increased risk of infection:

  • Crowded indoor settings
  • Indoor settings involving activities with close contact with others who may not be fully vaccinated
  • Indoor settings where the vaccine status of other individuals in the setting is unknown
  • Where an individual is immunocompromised or at increased risk for severe disease 

New Jersey has seen a small jump in coronavirus infections this month. State figures show 854 new infections reported as of Tuesday of this week.

The governor and health commissioner added that New Jersey’s infection rate is not as high as that of other states with lower vaccination figures. However, they added that if infections continue to rise in the Garden State, they may be forced to implement another statewide mask mandate.

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