Lifting School Mask Mandate Is 'Welcome News' In Warren

WARREN, NJ — In Warren the announcement that New Jersey will be dropping its statewide school mask mandate on March 7 is "welcome news."

"The Warren Township Board of Education has long hoped for the ability to utilize local COVID risk data to guide its decisions about masking in the district's schools. The Governor's announcement of an impending shift away from a statewide mandate is welcome news," said Warren Township School Superintendent Dr. Matthew Mingle.

Gov. Phil Murphy added that while the statewide mandate will end on March 7, individual school districts and daycare centers will still be able to maintain masking requirements afterward if they choose. Read More: Schools Can Extend Mask Mandate, But NJ Requirement Ends In March

People who choose to wear masks may continue to do so. Murphy will extend New Jersey's public-health state of emergency for one more month to allow schools to make the adjustment.

"As previously announced, our plan has been to return to our risk-based masking expectations based on our regional case data. As with any major changes to state mandates, we look forward to receiving additional guidance and implementation details in the coming days so that we can review our plans and share them with our community well in advance of the state mandate's expiration next month," said Mingle.

As for Watchung Hills Regional High School, Dr. Elizabeth Jewett did not have an update on what the school plans to do with the mask mandate.

"I have not yet had a chance to discuss it with the Board, administration, or our local health officials, so I don't have any updated information to share as of yet," said Jewett.

As of Monday, Warren Township Schools reported seven new positive COVID cases in the district. In total since Sept. 1, the district has reported 427 cases.

Somerset County reported Warren had 31 new cases from Jan. 29 through Feb. 4.

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