Students in Paterson, New Jersey, are now required to wear masks as they return to class from their winter break.
School officials decided the new year meant the return of an old policy -- they cited low vaccination rates and the desire to keep kids in classrooms as the reason for the change.Masks must be worn inside schools and district buildings until further notice."I want to keep the kids in school for in-person instruction, they were out long enough, remote cannot even come close to a live teacher in a classroom in front of a class of children," Shafer said.
"There has been a precipitous drop in the level of vaccination and specifically boosters and even among kids," Persaud said.The Passaic School District reinstated its mask mandate just before its holiday break. Data shows hospitalizations are up 14% in Passaic County and cases are down 5% while just 32% received COVID booster shots. That number goes up to 62% for those over the age of 65.
"We gotta do better with boosters," Mayor Andre Sayegh said. "Again it falls in line with the mindset that the pandemic is over, it's not, I have to continue to emphasize this ad nauseum." There are no exceptions to masking and no options to learn from home. As for what it could take to make masks optional? Officials said it would take getting flu shots, boosters and lowering the number of people in hospital beds.
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