Asbury Park Mask Mandate To End Friday: Officials

ASBURY PARK, NJ – Asbury Park’s controversial indoor mask mandate is slated to end Friday amid a decrease of new COVID-19 cases in the city, officials said.

The municipality’s emergency management coordinator has already signed an executive order lifting the mask mandate, effective Feb. 4 at 6 a.m., officials said in a statement.

The mask mandate was initially put in place on Jan. 7 during a spike in COVID-19 cases due to the omicron variant. According to the mandate, face masks are required in all indoor public settings including:

• Government facilities
• Restaurants
• Bars
• Gyms
• Dance studios
• Recreation facilities
• Retail stores
• Cafes
• Supermarkets
• Convenience stores
• Places of worship
• Commercial establishments
• Salons
• Barbershops
• Banks
• Healthcare facilities
• Hotels

Employees and customers in these public spaces are required to wear face masks at all times except when:

• Actively eating or drinking or when socially distanced at least six feet apart from all others for an extended period of time (such as in an office setting when seated at desks)
• Performing for an audience
• Conducting worship services

“We instituted the mask mandate in early January when Covid-19 cases in Asbury Park, Monmouth County and New Jersey were at an all-time high,” said Mayor John Moor in a statement. “We’ve been paying close attention to the decreasing cases, positivity rates and hospitalizations and feel we’re ready to lift the mandate. We still strongly encourage the use of high-quality masks while in indoor public spaces, especially for residents who may be at higher risk.”

“The City thanks our local businesses and members of the public for their cooperation in helping to keep Asbury Park healthy and safe,” said Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn, “We look forward to a continued decline in the impact of Covid-19 on our community for a happy and safe spring and summer for residents, businesses and visitors.”

The mask mandate drop in Asbury Park follows the lifting of restrictions in other New Jersey municipalities: East Brunswick, South Brunswick, Morristown and Princeton all lifted their mask mandates within the last 14 days. Montclair will keep its mandate through March; Newark will continue its mandate through at least Feb. 16. Read more: Newark COVID Vaccine, Mask Mandates Will Continue, Mayor Says

Asbury Park's restriction lift comes as Asbury Park reports 20 new COVID-19 cases in the last three days and 133 cases in the last 14 days. New Jersey also announced over 4,300 new cases on Monday.