New Jersey Department of Health has released new COVID-19 Public Health Recommendations for Local Health Departments for K-12 Schools. Previous guidance called for schools in areas with high virus levels to quarantine entire classrooms or even close schools if multiple students or teachers were coughing or showing other COVID-19 symptoms — when they hadn’t yet tested positive. The revised guidelines provide more clarity on when specifically schools should quarantine or close.
Under the new guidelines:
- Schools in orange zones — currently the entire state — should consider closing certain classrooms or entire schools if two or more students or teachers test positive for COVID-19.
- If a region moves to red, indicating a “very high risk” of COVID-19 transmission, the new guidelines “recommend” implementing all-remote learning for all schools.
- If a school is in an orange zone, the guidelines continue to recommend that anyone who comes in close contact with someone who has the coronavirus should stay home from school for 14 days. But, the new guidelines lower the stay-at-home rules to 10 days for students or teachers in areas where the COVID-19 risk level is at yellow or green.
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