As we continue to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to alert you to some changes within the district.
Notification Process
In consultation with the Department of Health, and in order to streamline the notification process for families, we will be moving to a dashboard that will provide information on the number of individuals who were present in a building on a specific day and have since tested positive with COVID. This will limit the volume of notifications that you receive, which may have been causing unnecessary anxiety to some. Like many other districts, Nutley will use the dashboard to report cases, as opposed to sending out letters each day from the principals. We will continue to send notifications to close contacts, with procedures and details for those who have been in close contact with a positive case.
The dashboard will contain the COVID positive cases by school and will be updated daily. Contact tracing will still be performed, as it has been, and individuals will still be notified if they have been determined to be close contacts. The Road Forward Guidance, updated most recently on December 15, 2021, says that in the K–12 indoor classroom setting, the close contact definition (less than 3 feet for more than 15 minutes in 24 hours) excludes those who were within 3 feet of an infected student or an infected staff member, where both parties correctly and consistently wore well-fitting masks the entire time.
The dashboard will be live on the District website on Tuesday, 1/11/22.
The district continues to monitor many indicators, including school-based exposures and work with the local department of health on a daily basis. The current school transmission numbers we are seeing are relatively lower compared to community transmission.
Updated Isolation/Quarantine Period
On Monday, January 10, 2022, the NJ Department of Health adopted the CDC’s guidance to move the quarantine period to five days, regardless of vaccination status. Beginning on Wednesday, January 12, 2022, a Covid-positive individual will stay home and isolate for five days. (This includes anyone who tests positive, but is free of symptoms.) If symptoms resolve or improve and the individual is fever-free for 24 hours, they may return to school after five-days of quarantine. If symptoms and fever persist, please continue to quarantine to help mitigate the spread. If needed, schools will be reaching out to student current quarantining to adjust the timeline. After consultation with the health department, updated and more specific guidance will become available in the near future to maximize the safety of our students.
Testing Information
We will continue to test all in-person extra curricular activities weekly, while the local area is in the “very high transmission” range for cases. Tests will be conducted on either Mondays or Thursdays, depending on your activity, in the NHS cafeteria. Details for those who must test will be communicated separately.
Testing for all unvaccinated staff will continue to be mandated by the state and will continue to take place weekly on Monday afternoons, in the NHS cafeteria. We will continue to voluntarily test students on Mondays.
Safety Protocols
We continue to wear masks and social distance, daily in all our buildings, and we continue to closely supervise to limit close contacts. Governor Murphy has extended the mask mandate, for schools and daycares, which was set to expire today.
In addition, we continue with our cleaning protocols, use of classroom air purifying systems, social distancing, and hand-washing procedures.
Please continue to monitor for symptoms, stay home if you feel unwell, and test for COVID. If you test positive for COVID, please contact your school nurse immediately. We will continue to send isolation letters, with procedures and details for those who have tested positive.