A schools superintendent in Ocean County says it is time for students and teachers to ditch their masks as coronavirus cases continue to decline.
Central Regional Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides sent a letter to Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday asking him to rescind his executive order requiring face coverings for everyone inside school buildings in New Jersey.
Parlapanides wrote that fewer than 10% of documented COVID-19 cases in the United States have been between the ages of 5 and 17, and that infected children mostly report either no symptoms or mild illness.
“All teachers that wanted to be vaccinated have been vaccinated so teachers are now safe in the classroom,” Parlapanides wrote.
He asked Murphy to rescind the mask requirement “so that students can breathe and that at graduation, parents can see their children’s smiling face.”
Parlapanides sent his letter on the same day school districts with full-time, in-person instruction outnumbered districts with hybrid or remote learning schedules for the first time since schools reopened in September.
New Jersey is among a handful of states continuing with indoor mask requirements in public places, nearly a week after updated federal coronavirus guidelines stated that those who are fully vaccinated no longer need to wear face coverings or socially distance under most circumstances.
Murphy lifted the outdoor mask requirement on Monday and, on Wednesday, most indoor and outdoor capacity limits were limited.
As of Wednesday, the state’s seven-day average for new confirmed positive COVID-19 tests was 651 — down 33% from a week ago and 77% from a month ago.
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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.