N.J. to drop COVID test option, require vaccines for health, long-term care workers [Video]

Health care workers in New Jersey and anybody else who has a job in “high-risk congregate settings,” such as long-term care and correctional facilities, will need to be vaccinated against the coronavirus and will no longer be eligible to opt out by undergoing weekly testing, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Wednesday.

The new order comes as the latest COVID-19 wave to hit the state shows signs of waning after a new highly contagious variant of the virus resulted in tens of thousands of people testing positive for COVID-19 daily and hospitalizations approaching numbers not seen since the first wave of the pandemic.

Murphy issued an executive order that took effect in September 2021 requiring a vast amount of workers to be vaccinated. But he gave the option for people who refused the shots to regularly at least once or twice a week for the virus.

The newest order all but strips the testing option and requires people …