Face Masks Should Be Worn In Nearly All NJ Counties, CDC Says

NEW JERSEY — As of Aug. 1, all of New Jersey's 21 counties except one have now entered "high" or "substantial" levels of coronavirus transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meaning that the CDC wants residents in those counties to wear face masks again in indoor public settings — even if they've been vaccinated.

This means face masks are now recommended in workplaces, public buildings and stores for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. The CDC is also recommending universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students and visitors to K-12 schools regardless of vaccination status given the most recent public health data.

"Children should return to full-time in-person learning in the fall with layered prevention strategies in place," the CDC has said.

The only county in New Jersey not seeing substantial coronavirus spread is Warren County, which has been classified as "moderate" spread. Two counties in New Jersey — Monmouth County and Cape May County — are seeing "high" viral spread.

"High" spread indicates over 100 new cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days. "Substantial" means between 50-99.99 cases within the same time period, and "Moderate" means 10-49.99 new cases.

You can see the CDC's most up-to-date map of New Jersey here: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-da...

Cape May County is actually outpacing Monmouth in terms of vaccination rates among the total population. (Cape May County also has over 500,000 fewer people than Monmouth.)

In Cape May County, 70 percent of adults over 18 are fully vaccinated as of Aug. 1, according to the CDC. In Monmouth County, only 64 percent of adults over 18 are fully vaccinated as of Aug. 1.

Last Tuesday, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky issued this groundbreaking revised guidance that now even vaccinated Americans should return to wearing a mask in indoor public setting in areas of substantial and high transmission, regardless of vaccination status.

Between July 25 to Aug. 1, the CDC classifies all 21 New Jersey counties as:

• Monmouth County: High spread
• Cape May County: High spread
• Bergen: Substantial spread
• Passaic: Substantial spread
• Hudson: Substantial spread
• Essex: Substantial spread
• Union: Substantial spread
• Middlesex: Substantial spread
• Morris: Substantial spread
• Somerset: Substantial spread
• Mercer: Substantial spread
• Sussex: Substantial spread
• Hunterdon: Substantial spread
• Burlington: Substantial spread
• Camden: Substantial spread
• Gloucester: Substantial spread
• Salem: Substantial spread
• Cumberland: Substantial spread
• Atlantic: Substantial spread
• Ocean: Substantial spread
• Warren County: Moderate spread

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