A North Jersey school district has mandated school masks to be worn for at least the rest of the week as the state reported the high number of patients in hospitals since last Valentine’s Day.
The Passaic Public School system informed parents that starting Dec. 21, masks were again mandatory to enter any of the 17 schools serving 14,000 students in the city’s school system in the last days before the holiday break.
“Please be advised that per our board policy…during periods of a High Activity Level as published in the NJDOH COVID-19 Activity Level report, mask wearing is required,” wrote Superintendent Sandra M. Diodonet to parents in announcing the decision.
High Community Levels
Passaic County is among 10 counties in New Jersey reporting “high” community levels of COVID-19. Other North Jersey counties in that cohort include Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Warren. Cumberland, Middlesex, Monmouth, Somerset, and Union are the others in the state with high levels as per New Jersey Department of Health criteria.
Diodonet wrote that all employees, pre-K through grade 12 students, and visitors are required to wear face coverings in all district facilities, school grounds, and buses.
Conditions for Ending Mandate
The letter noted that the masking requirement would end when “Passaic County is in the moderate or below range.”
The school mask mandates was one of the most controversial COVID-19 protocols during the pandemic. Gov. Phil Murphy dropped the state’s mask mandate in schools in early 2022. Currently, masks are only mandated to be worn in health care settings.
Murphy last week said he did not foresee “any mandates in New Jersey unless something drastically changes” after New York City health officials issued an advisory urging people to “use high-quality masks when indoors and in crowded outdoor settings” such as stores, offices, lobbies, elevators and schools.
Schools Face Tripledemic
In North Jersey, hospitals are seeing an increase of patients with three ailments—COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus, more commonly referred to as RSV, and the flu. Dubbed a “tripledemic” for the three leading viruses that began spreading earlier than usual this year, the rise of cases for the three ailments is expected to get worse as Christmas, New Year’s Eve and other holidays bring more indoor gatherings and travel, which typically increase the risk of transmission.
The latest COVID-19 stats as of Dec. 21:
COVID-19 cases:
New daily PCR cases: 1,866; Probable Cases: 991
Total Cases: 2,901,542 (2,444,235 PCR cases, 457,307 probable cases)
New Confirmed Deaths: 19 (15 probable deaths, 35,387 total deaths)
Rate of Transmission: 1.10
Percent Positivity: 11.8% as of Dec. 15; by region, the rate was 14.2% in the North, 10.9% in the Central region and 7.6% in the South
By County:
Bergen County: 247 New Cases, 117 Probable Cases, 3,320 deaths, 336 probable deaths
Essex County: 172 New Cases, 73 Probable Cases, 3,405 deaths, 312 probable deaths
Hudson County: 116 New Cases, 71 Probable Cases, 2,598 total deaths, 221 probable deaths
Morris County: 70 New Cases, 55 Probable Cases, 1,345 deaths, 306 probable deaths
Passaic County: 122 New Cases, 54 Probable Cases, 2,223 deaths, 206 probable deaths
Sussex County: 31 New Cases, 6 Probable Cases, 415 deaths, 97 probable deaths
Warren County: 38 New Cases, 8 Probable Cases, 327 deaths, 29 probable deaths
Hospitals
Hospitalizations: 1,485 (583 North; 551 Central; and 351 South)
Patients in intensive care units: 179
Patients on ventilators: 53
Patients discharged: 266
The state dashboard showed all 71 hospitals in the state reporting
Long-term Care Facilities
Facilities currently reporting one case: 375 (3,209 overall)
Current number of residents: 8,815 (65,278 overall)
Current number of staffers: 5,929 (49,653 overall)
Number of Deaths: 9,912 overall (8,967 reported by facilities, 139 staff deaths)
Vaccine
Total number of COVID-19 vaccines administered in New Jersey: 14,982,583 (14,458,464 in-state, plus an additional 524,119 administered out-of-state)
Fully Vaccinated: 7,156,772 (6,942,153 in state and another 214,619 out of state). By county, 750,462 in Bergen County, 623,251 in Essex, 553,694 in Hudson, 401,819 in Morris, 373,355 in Passaic, 95,755 in Sussex, and 63,699 in Warren.
Booster Shots: 4,343,060 (2,401,960 Pfizer, 1,866,625 Moderna and 74,475 Johnson & Johnson)
The latest mask study–once again–affirms that face diapers are absolutely USELESS in preventing the spread of Covid. But leave it to the NJ (mis-)educational system to ignore the SCIENCE and opt for FEEL-GOOD-ism instead. Those poor kids.
Masks don’t stop aerosolized respiratory particles. Masks don’t stop viruses at all. Not even a little bit. The worldwide data for this is literally overwhelming.
Anybody still wearing a mask is either ignorant delusional or a coward
There are those who believe that the severity of the Spanish flu in the early 20th century was exacerbated by widespread masking that caused fatal pneumonia.
But, but, but, the masks make the Wokesters feeeeel so saaaafe…
Not only are they ineffective, covid-19 itself is NOT A THREAT TO HEALTHY CHILDREN. 85% of them already have natural immunity. If teachers want to take 5 shots and wear 2 masks they should. If parents want their children to wear them, fine, we understand you’ve been brainwashed by fear and disregard the studies that prove they not only don’t work, they actually negatively affect the health of children and their ability to learn, but it is your right to do so as a parent. However, to mandate masks on a county-level while knowing they cause more harm than good is purely asinine. We understand covid-19 is a now a billion dollar business so we have to hold case numbers in high regard and let them dictate our actions despite the disease being a shell of it’s former self and as always, NEVER A THREAT TO HEALTHY CHILDREN.
Well Well; And a big Kudos!! It show’s Caring & Concern!! However, I still believe that, “Let the One’s whom Ride Decide” ; It’s called Freedom!! Since these Kid’s will bring it on Home any-o’-ways; cause being Kid’s, “Kid’s will be Kid’s” & that means that they’re prone to carelessness, thoughtless pranks & are excellent magnet’s spreading agents around & at the Home!! So, “Let the Byer be ware” & “Let the One’s Ridding do the Deciding” , The End>>//
AND; To ALL Face Fading opponent’s.. Leave the People’s Alone!! AND; Let the People’s Decide for’n themselves!! AND; Had those in the 1918 Flu, practiced proper protocol’s including Washing, Masking & avoiding Cluster’s & Cavorting’s in Taverns, there mite’ve been less death’s.. AND; Because of Proper Protocol’s & Masking’s, Many senior’s haven’t gotten Cold’s nor Flu’s about 2 &1/2 years!! WELL, So much for’n the Denying of Masks’ effectiveness..!!//
rob kwiatk, your history is faulty; they DID use masks in 1918–and it is believed that many died when they contracted pneumonia as a result.
And your subjective observation (i.e., anecdotal evidence) about how many seniors have “gotten colds or flu” is not how science works. The latest actual peer-reviewed scientific study has concluded that the masks DO NOT reduce spread. I agree with you that, if someone is dumb enough–despite the mounting evidence–to restrict their oxygen intake with a face covering (which also causes them to re-inhale any toxins that their body is constantly trying to eliminate), they should have that choice (and vice versa).