Gov. Murphy: No plans for NJ to follow NY in reimposing indoor mask mandate

Gov. Phil Murphy said on Monday that he currently has no plans to follow New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s lead for an indoor mask mandate.

News 12 Staff

Dec 13, 2021, 9:22 PM

Updated 1,086 days ago

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Gov. Phil Murphy said on Monday that he currently has no plans to follow New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s lead for an indoor mask mandate.
But the governor said that vaccine passports and mask mandates remain an option as cases and hospitalizations of COVID-19 increase in the Garden State.
“Every option is on the table. At the moment, we think that what we have in place meets the moment,” Murphy said.
The governor said at his COVID-19 briefing that he believes that the federal government may change the definition of fully vaccinated to include boosters and third doses of the coronavirus vaccine.
Murphy had faced skepticism and attacks during the past election, with some fearing that he was simply waiting until he was re-elected before instituting a vaccine passport or mask mandate. He consistently denied it then and once again during his briefing.
“That doesn’t mean there’s either any bait and switch. We’re going to call this as we see it – and straight,” Murphy said.
The governor also revealed that 70% of state works are fully vaccinated. The mandate for all state works to get the shot has been in place for nearly two months.