Masks, COVID Vaccines Not Yet Required In Basking Ridge

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — While some New Jersey towns are starting to roll out mask and COVID vaccine mandates, Bernards Township is not quite there yet.

"While this is a rapidly evolving situation, at this time we are not requiring facial coverings or proof of vaccine status for indoor spaces in Bernards Township except for locations presently required by Governor Murphy’s directives such as schools and medical facilities," said the Bernards Township Office of Emergency Management.

As of Tuesday, Bernards Township reported 25 new coronavirus cases and a total of 224 cases since Dec. 22.

Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, Bernards Township has reported 2,256 cases and 50 deaths.

Towns such as Montclair and Maplewood began mandating people to wear masks this month. Newark went one step further and is requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19 for customers 5 years of age and older at many establishments and facilities in the city.

These changes followed New Jersey's surging COVID-19 cases. On Wednesday, the state once again broke a record for the most cases reported in one day with more than 20,000. Read More: Highest-Ever COVID Case Numbers Recorded In NJ

Bernards Township OEM said they have been monitoring the progression of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and continues to follow the guidance of the CDC and the State of New Jersey.

Bernards Township residents are still encouraged to wear a face-covering in indoor settings where there is increased risk, such as:

• 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.

Basking Ridge residents are also encouraged to obtain a vaccine booster or full vaccine depending on their vaccine status.

Vaccines and boosters are available through various outlets, including the Bernards Township Health Department (bernardshealth.org), the State of NJ (covid19.nj.gov) and Somerset County (co.somerset.nj.us).

For those looking for testing, Governor Phil Murphy recently announced there are more than 100 free and public COVID-19 testing sites throughout New Jersey.

To help, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also announced it will open a mass coronavirus testing site in New Jersey.

Federal officials are bringing a free, mass coronavirus testing site to East Orange to help slow the spread of COVID-19, including the omicron variant. And it will be open to all New Jersey residents, authorities announced Wednesday. Read More: Mass COVID Test Site In East Orange Will Serve All NJ Residents

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