WATCH: Gov. Murphy To Address K-12 Mask Mandate

NEW JERSEY - Gov. Phil Murphy is slated to make an announcement Friday afternoon regarding updated masking guidelines in New Jersey K-12 schools this fall, a Murphy administration official confirmed to Patch. Multiple sources report that the governor will be mandating face masks for all students and staff at the onset of the upcoming school year.

The governor, who previously announced in June that the state will allow individual school districts to implement their own face mask policies, will issue the update at 1:15 p.m. from East Brunswick’s Memorial Elementary School (you can watch it live here, below).

“After a school year where the majority of our students spent significant time learning remotely, the upcoming school year will see a return to normal,” Murphy said during a June news conference, adding that decisions regarding masking will be left up to individual school districts. Read more: No Mask Mandate For NJ Students This Fall, Gov. Murphy Says

“I don’t want to go backward — that’s the last thing I want to do — but we’ll do what we have to do," he previously said.

The course reversal comes amid updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which now recommends that even vaccinated individuals wear masks in areas of high or substantial transmission — which is most of the nation (of all 21 counties in New Jersey, only Warren is exempt from the "substantial" or "high" transmission categories). Murphy and Department of Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli also “strongly recommend" face masks in settings where there is “increased risk.” Read more: Face Masks Should Be Worn In Nearly All NJ Counties, CDC Says

Those settings include crowded indoor settings, indoor settings with close contact with others who may not be vaccinated and settings where an individual is at increased risk for severe disease.

“Our metrics are trending in the wrong direction, and new data suggests the Delta variant is more transmissible even among vaccinated individuals, which is why we are making this strong recommendation,” Murphy and Persichilli said in a statement.

Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the New Jersey Education Association also support the CDC's updated guidance on face masks. Health officials, including those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have warned of rising coronavirus case numbers in New Jersey, possibly driven by the more contagious delta variant.

Earlier this week, Murphy and other officials announced a vaccine mandate for many health care workers throughout the state, with affected employees required to take regular COVID-19 tests if they're not fully vaccinated against the disease. Read more: COVID Vaccines, Testing Now Mandatory For NJ Health Care Staff

Several big-box stores in the Garden State, including Starbucks, Dunkin’, Home Depot, McDonalds, Kohls and more have recently reinstated masking policies for employees (and some for customers, too). Read more: NJ Businesses Change Mask Rules As COVID Cases Surge

During a Wednesday news conference in Union City, Murphy interrupted himself to clap back at a group of anti-vax protesters carrying signs reading "No Forced Injections" and "Forced Medical Procedures Are Crimes Against Humanity.” Read more: NJ Governor Loses His Cool With Anti-Vaccine Protesters

"These folks back there have lost their minds," Murphy said. "You are the ultimate knuckleheads … And because of what you are saying and standing for, people are losing their [lives]."

On Tuesday, New Jersey reported a seven-day average of 977 for newly confirmed COVID cases - more than quadruple the seven-day average a month ago, per NJ.com. There were 1,345 new cases reported on Friday, with four new lab-confirmed deaths.

Since March 2020, there have been 912,619 total confirmed cases and 23,910 confirmed deaths.

NEW JERSEY #COVID19 UPDATE:
1,345 new positive PCR tests
912,619 total positive PCR tests
415 new positive antigen tests
132,549 total positive antigen tests
4 new confirmed deaths
23,910 total confirmed deaths
2,719 probable deaths
https://t.co/JW1q8awGh7 pic.twitter.com/EdcQXdX8QV
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) August 5, 2021

You can stream the announcement below:

With reporting by Eric Kiefer and Anthony Bellano.

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