Changes In COVID Mask Rules Coming In NJ: Reports

NEW JERSEY – Two reports say changes are coming to rules regarding wearing masks indoors amid the COVID crisis, and an announcement could be made as early as Monday.

Gov. Phil Murphy will speak at 1 p.m. on Monday and will reportedly announce the changes to New Jersey's indoor mask order and provide other COVID updates. Read more: WATCH LIVE: Gov. Murphy Issues NJ COVID, Masks, Reopening Update

NJ Advance Media reported that, beginning on Friday, May 28, vaccinated people will be permitted to enter restaurants, stores and other indoor spaces in New Jersey without face coverings.

The Asbury Park Press also reported that Gov. Phil Murphy will lift the indoor mask restriction before Memorial Day weekend.

Murphy's office declined to address the issue to Patch, deferring questions to Monday’s press conference with Gov. Phil Murphy that is expected to start at 1 p.m.

The move would be a sharp reversal by Murphy who has said repeatedly this past week that New Jersey is not ready to adopt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines and lift the state's indoor mask restrictions.

New Jersey did adopt the CDC's guidelines on outdoor masks, lifting nearly all restrictions on it for vaccinated people.

But he's come under heavy criticism from Republican lawmakers since the CDC two weeks ago changed its guidance on masking, saying fully vaccinated people should not have to wear masks or social distance indoors or outdoors except under certain circumstances.

Murphy was also criticized because he had previously said such a move would be a "game-changer," and he's said that New Jersey could loosen its coronavirus restrictions once the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its guidelines.

This week, however, Murphy changed his tune, saying he's not ready to lift the indoor mask mandate just yet. New Jersey, he said, is the only state that hasn't had to reverse its reopening orders, and he doesn't want to be the last.

"I don't want to get burned. I don't want to go back," Murphy said. "We're the only state in America that has not gone back once, and I don't want to start now."

Murphy also has noted that the state's dense population has made it very difficult to control the virus since it first hit in March 2020. The problem is especially apparent in New Jersey's densely populated urban areas where the vaccination rate is still way too low, he said.

Murphy also believes that business owners could face another burden: policing people to wear masks if they haven't been vaccinated. He also wanted to buy more time for people to get immunized. Read more: 5 Reasons Why Gov. Murphy Won't Lift NJ COVID-19 Mask Mandate Yet

Under the new guidelines, Rochelle Walensky, director of CDC, said "you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing before the pandemic" if you've been fully vaccinated.

"We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy."

However, the CDC did say that Americans need to abide by "state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance" before changing their behavior.

Vaccinated people still have to wear masks at hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare settings, when using public transportation and at traveling hubs.

Here is the new guidance if you’ve been fully vaccinated:

• You can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic.
• You can resume activities without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.
• If you travel in the United States, you do not need to get tested before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel.
• You need to pay close attention to the situation at your international destination before traveling outside the United States.
  • You do NOT need to get tested before leaving the United States unless your destination requires it.
  • You still need to show a negative test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before boarding an international flight to the United States.
  • You should still get tested 3-5 days after international travel.
  • You do NOT need to self-quarantine after arriving in the United States.
• If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms.
  • However, if you live or work in a correctional or detention facility or a homeless shelter and are around someone who has COVID-19, you should still get tested, even if you don’t have symptoms.

The change in guidance comes after New Jersey and Connecticut governors announced that capacity limits at restaurants, stores, offices and other areas of life are set to be lifted by May 19 in the tri-state area. Read more: 'Major' COVID-19 Reopening In NJ: Here's What's Planned

"Should the CDC ... revise its 6-foot distancing guidance, we will revise our requirements accordingly," Murphy said last week.