New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced on Monday his plan to lift the COVID-19 mask requirement in New Jersey schools and daycare centers for students and staff, beginning the second week of March. This mandate elimination for the first time since the start of the pandemic is set in hopes that it will move to “normalcy”.

“This is a huge step back to normalcy for our kids,” Murphy said in a press conference Monday. “We have to learn how to live with COVID as we move from a pandemic to the endemic phase of this virus.”

Murphy cited in his announcement that there has been a “dramatic decline” in COVID-19 cases, which continues to be a “positive sign”. The new policy taking effect in March will mark the two year anniversary that New Jersey and New York became early flashpoints of a virus that has killed more than 900,000 people nationwide.

Individual school districts will be free to continue requiring masks within the building once the state mandate ends on March 7. Murphy’s announcement drew swift reaction from schools and parents, with the debate over mask requirements in schools proven to be one of the most divisive issues in the pandemic. The mask rule has been supported by the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s biggest teachers union and a close ally to the governor, up until now. Leaders in the association claim that if there is a rise in cases, Murphy should keep open the possibility of “reimposing the mask mandate.” The debate amongst parents, school boards, teachers and elected officials has resulted in clashes over academic loss, the protection of public health and individual choice for an extensive amount of time.

“The overwhelming sentiment on both sides of the aisle,” Murphy said, “is we want to get to a place where we can live with this thing in as normal a fashion as possible.”