NJ To Drop COVID Testing Mandates: Latest Details

NEW JERSEY — Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order Monday that lifts the COVID-19 testing requirement for unvaccinated school employees, child care staff and state contractors. Those who aren't fully vaccinated against the virus had to submit to regular testing.

The order will apply to school districts and child care settings immediately, and to state contractors as of Sept. 1. Employers in these sectors can still maintain a vaccination or testing policy as they see fit going forward.

Separately, the state-employee testing program will end Sept. 1.

Workers in health care, correctional facilities and congregate settings such as nursing homes have a mandate requiring them to stay up-to-date on COVID shots. The executive order doesn't change requirements in those sectors.

"With children as young as 6 months old now eligible for vaccines and millions of New Jerseyans vaccinated and boosted, more of our residents are safe from severe illness due to COVID-19," Murphy said in a statement. "As always, I encourage everyone to stay up-to-date on their vaccination and take other precautions as necessary to protect themselves and their loved ones from this virus."

The state will still require school districts and child care facilities to report vaccination and testing data to allow the New Jersey Department of Health to "continue to monitor COVID-19 and make data-driven decisions to keep residents safe."

The changes come days after the CDC scaled back COVID guidelines, which include changes to social distancing and quarantine protocols. The agency also ended its recommendation for routine daily screening in schools, though it can be reinstated in situations with a surge of infections, the agency said.

Federal health officials emphasized that the pandemic isn't over. About 3,400 Americans died from COVID in the past week, and the CDC still recommends masking for public, indoor spaces in 17 New Jersey counties. Read more: CDC Eases COVID Restrictions: What Remains In NJ

But an estimated 95 percent of Americans have some level of immunity from COVID, either from vaccination or infection, according to the CDC.

Previously, the state required all employees in schools, child care facilities and state agencies to get fully vaccinated or submit to regular COVID testing.

Full vaccination means completing the two-shot series of the Pfizer, Moderna or recently approved Novavax vaccines or receiving one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. While booster shots of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson provide additional protection, the state didn't mandate them for the aforementioned employees. The requirement also applied to part-time employees and contractors.

New Jersey Republicans had long criticized Murphy's testing mandate for unvaccinated individuals. The regulations included State House protocols, which left several Republicans lawmakers barred from entering the building in December after they refused to show proof of vaccination or a negative test. Read more: NJ Republicans Blocked From Statehouse Over COVID-19 Policy

State Sen. Kristin Corrado (R-40) — among the State Legislature's most vocal critics of the testing mandates for the unvaccinated — tweeted the following on Monday: "We've been calling for Gov. Murphy to lift his unnecessary testing mandate for months. Glad he's finally listening. Better late than never."

Eighty percent of the state's school employees are fully vaccinated, according to the state health department. Eighty-seven percent of people under 18 in New Jersey are fully vaccinated, while 53.1 percent of the age group has received a booster shot, per CDC data. (Everyone 5 and older is eligible for at least one booster.)

Murphy implemented a vaccine requirement in January for employees in health care settings or "high-risk congregate" environments. The mandate remains in place, as does the vaccination requirement for federal employees.