Masks returned in two school districts in New Jersey today.
Masks are required at
Metuchen schools and on buses. District officials say they will reevaluate the
decision weekly.
“Hopefully they’ll take it
away next week,” says freshman Jayden Londono.
“I’m OK with it,” says sophomore Savanna Rodriguez. “I was already
wearing my mask, but a lot of kids are kind of frustrated about it.”
Students at Clinton
Elementary and South Mountain Elementary in the South Orange-Maplewood district
also had to wear their masks again, beginning today.
In a statement, district
officials say there is not a districtwide return to mandatory universal
masking. They say outbreaks were contained to these two schools and
that appropriate actions have been taken.
Just last week the Paterson
School District dropped its mask mandate.
Sussex, Morris, Camden,
Gloucester, Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington, Atlantic and Cape
May counties are all at a high transmission risk. Warren, Hunterdon,
Somerset, Mercer, Salem, Passaic, Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Union and Middlesex
counties are at moderate. Cumberland is at a low transmission rate.
Neither of the school districts
requiring masks again is in the high transmission rate counties.