Masks, COVID Vaccines Not Yet Required In Bridgewater

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

"At this time, the Township is not changing any of our policies as it relates to COVID-19 for access to Township buildings and will not be doing so for any entities in Bridgewater," said Bridgewater Deputy Township Administrator Wells Winegar.

As of Tuesday, Bridgewater Township reported 48 new coronavirus cases and a total of 359 cases since Dec. 22. The township has a population of more than 44,000 residents.

Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, Bridgewater Township has reported 4,120 cases and 113 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

Winegar said the township is continuously monitoring the situation with their Health Officer who is monitoring any requirements or policy updates from the State of New Jersey and the CDC, such as the CDC’s new guidelines that they issued on Monday.

"We will continue to monitor and make any changes we deem necessary for residents and our employees," said Winegar.

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

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

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