Princeton Will Not Extend Mask Mandate As COVID Cases Decline
PRINCETON, NJ — The Municipality has decided not the extend mask mandates after it’s set to expire on Jan. 31, officials announced. The decision was made due to the rapid decline in cases.
As of Jan. 24, Princeton saw 126 positive COVID-19 cases in the past seven days and 313 cases in the past 14 days.
Health Officer Jeff Grosser recently told Patch that the Municipality could likely continue to see a decrease in cases “with minor quick increases due to various community clusters.”
“While cases may be retreating, as a community we need to continue to keep in mind it is flu season, we are still seeing COVID cases at higher levels than ever before in the pandemic, so we should continue to use the tools we have relied on throughout the pandemic moving ahead,” he said.
He reminded residents to “continue to stay active, eat healthy, get sleep.”
Princeton has a mask mandate in place beginning Jan. 13, when COVID-19 cases were surging across the Municipality and the state.
Meanwhile, three cases of the new omicron subvariant have been detected in New Jersey, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said Thursday afternoon. Read More: 'Stealth Omicron' Subvariant Detected In NJ
The subvariant of omicron, known as BA.2, is also dubbed "stealth omicron" because its particular genetic traits make it harder to detect, and evidence suggested it will spread even more quickly than its infamous parent.
However, this new subvariant is not considered a variant of concern, according to the World Health Organization.
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This article originally appeared on the Princeton Patch
