New Jersey Governor Sees School-Mask Mandates Being Lifted in Phases

(Bloomberg) -- New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said he expects to lift school-mask requirements in phases, beginning with older students who are further along getting vaccinations. He gave no timeline for when the mandates would be lifted.

High schoolers 12-to-17 years old would go first, as about 60% already have received their shots, Murphy said Monday at a virus briefing. Children 5 to 11 just became eligible for the vaccine, and less than 10,000 have gotten their first jab so far out of 760,000 eligible in that age group.

“I could see it as we do it in a phased approach if that number of the 12-17 year olds gets into an acceptable zone, which it almost by definition will before the younger kids,” Murphy said. “You could see making a move, phasing it in, based on the age of the kids, high school versus middle school versus grammar school. That seems to me to be the sensible way to think about this.”

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