New Jersey residents who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will no longer have to wear a mask come Friday.

But despite the mask mandate being lifted, children attending summer camps and summer school will have to remain masked – and in most cases, even outdoors.

“The issue of outdoor activity for children in a camp setting is not an easy one to ask,” says New Jersey Health Department medical advisor Dr. Eddy Bresnitz.

Regulations issued in late April by the state Department of Health say campers and staff this summer must wear masks indoors and even outdoors, leading some parents to ask why.

“That’s a difficult issue and I think it’s more difficult in camps where most of them are teenagers or above the age of 12 and can get vaccinated,” Bresnitz says.

Campers over the age of 2 will have to wear masks indoors when they are not eating or sleeping. Campers and staff will have to wear masks outdoors when social distancing is not possible. The only exceptions will be for eating, swimming or in excessive heat.

For younger children, they're not vaccinated, and there's mixing of those kids and they're coming from different areas,” Bresnitz says. “So there may be some exposure they bring it home as well.”

Gov. Phil Murphy is facing opposition from a few school districts with his estimation that students will still have to wear masks once they return to the classroom in September.

“Do I anticipate that we will get to a day at some point where we’re not wearing masks? Yes. Do I want that to happen? Absolutely – safely and responsibly,” Murphy says.

The governor says that high schools might be able to drop the mask mandate as more teenagers are vaccinated.

There is a possibility that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance on outdoor masking could change soon.

“If the science suggests you can turn your mask guidance on a dime – just don’t wear [the mask],” Murphy says.

The governor says that any violations of the executive orders will be assessed against the owners of the summer camps.