New Jersey Students for School Mask Mandates
New Jersey State Legislature
The CDC recommends indoor masking for all students, teachers, staff, and school visitors in K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. Yet members of the New Jersey Legislatures have attempted to impede Governor Murphy's ability to renew the mask mandate, refusing to codify the extension into law. While the Governor has temporarily extended the school mask mandate using state-of-emergency powers, the legislature's refusal to do so through legislation jeopardizes the lives of New Jersey students and school staff. Countless studies have shown the benefits of mask-wearing in schools. In Arizona, schools with no mask requirement were 3.5 times more likely to experience COVID-19 outbreaks. We are calling upon the New Jersey State Legislature to renew school mask mandate legislation. As COVID-19 cases surge, it is essential that our government upholds COVID-19 safety procedures to protect the health and well-being of students and staff.
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New Jersey State Legislature
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[Your Name]
As the Governor shared during his COVID-19 briefing, "We cannot responsibly, in the teeth of this tsunami, change gears on this." We, the students of New Jersey, thank Governor Murphy for re-instating the mask mandate and for ensuring our safety.
It is irresponsible of the legislature to hinder efforts to uphold the Governor’s ability to enforce a mask mandate. Across the state, COVID-19 cases are rising, forcing schools to close and placing students and teachers at risk. Between July 1st and September 4th, 2021, it was proven that counties without mask requirements experienced significantly larger increases in pediatric COVID-19 cases after the start of school. Especially with surges of the Delta and Omicron variants, this trend has only worsened.
Today, New Jersey COVID cases have surged to 15,000 cases per day, well above numbers at the beginning of the school mask mandate. In order to contain the spread of the virus, it is essential we wait until we reach lower numbers to ensure the safety of New Jersey students. Especially within minority and low-income communities, which often face significant disparities accessing healthcare, mask mandates are especially important, as these demographics are more vulnerable to contracting COVID.
We call upon our legislators to protect public health and continue advocating for common-sense measures, like the mask mandate, that protects New Jersey’s youth.