Graduations. Assemblywoman DeCroce asks governor to loosen the reins on graduation ceremonies

Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce is urging Gov. Phil Murphy to allow school graduations and proms to resume in June and not to place severe restrictions on the traditional ceremonies.

“Graduating from grammar school or high school is – or attending a prom - is a rite of passage for young people and way for families to come together and to mark time,” DeCroce said in the press release detailing her request.

“Students and parents have suffered a great deal of social separation in New Jersey in the past year. I think it’s time to lighten up on the restrictions and let families decide how they want to celebrate their children’s graduations and let our children enjoy the proms that will create a lifetime of memories for them.”

The cases of Covid-19 infection are dropping significantly and the number of people who have received covid vaccines is increasing, noted DeCroce. According to a recently published N.Y. Times report on Covid 19 – reported cases dropped 23 percent overall in the state in the last 14 days. In Morris County, the Covid infection rate is down 34 percent; while cases in Essex County went down 17 percent. Passaic County saw a slight uptick of 5 percent. Only four counties in the state showed an increase in Covid-19 cases and in most cases the numbers were relatively small – less than 40.

Nearly 7 million vaccination doses have been administered in New Jersey with nearly 3 million people fully vaccinated, which represents a third of the population.

DeCroce said with vaccinations increasing daily, a majority of the state should be fully vaccinated by June.

“I’m not sounding the all -clear signal on the virus, but I believe people have enough information to decide for themselves if they want to attend a graduation ceremony and a prom - provided they take the correct precautions,” says DeCroce. “Let the parents and school board decide what is best for themselves.

“For more than a year, state officials have been wagging their fingers at people and treating them like children,” the assemblywoman added. “I believe it is time to treat our citizens like adults.”