The New Jersey Department of Health has issued some guidance for schools and child care programs to maintain health as the indoor mask mandate gets ready to end.

“Providing a healthy and safe environment is key to keeping our children in schools. Our recommendations will continue to guide schools and child care providers in determining which COVID-related policies, including masking, are most appropriate for their students and staff based on their community-specific circumstances,” a spokesperson for the department said in a statement.

New Jersey’s indoor school mask mandate will be lifted on March 7. Individual school districts can still decide if masks will still be required.

State health officials say that each district and child care center should consult with the local health department and school nurses on if masks should still be required in the classroom.

"Many factors should be considered when making decisions on masking, including a school or child care center’s ability to maintain physical distancing, screen students for COVID, perform contact tracing, exclude students and staff with COVID-19 or who have been exposed, and maintain adequate ventilation,” the district says. Vaccination rates of students and staff should also be considered.

For any district choosing to end its individual masking policy, the Health Department recommends that masks be worn, during periods of elevated community transmission of COVID-19, during an active outbreak, after a student or staff member returns from isolation or quarantine or if a student or staff member starts to show symptoms of the virus.

Masks must still be worn on all school buses, under a federal order by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.