Dear Eatontown School Community Member:
The school year has begun and the district is extremely happy to be able to support a five-day, full-day, in-person schedule. However, the beginning of the school year has been challenging due to our area still remaining in the Orange (High) level and the prevalence of the contagious Delta variant.
Our School Nurses have been fielding many questions and are working hard to protect the school community from a virus that cannot be seen, touched, heard, or felt. Please be courteous in your interactions with them. The School Nurses are following the same NJ DOH and NJ DOE guidance as the district. Our district has supported this guidance for the last 18 months.
Below are some clarifications based upon the recent NJ DOE guidance listed in the Road Forward Plan from September 1, 2021 as well as the NJ DOH guidance from August 31, 2021.
Parents or caregivers should not send students to school when sick. For school settings, NJDOH recommends that students with the following symptoms be promptly isolated from others and excluded from school:
- At least two of the following symptoms: fever (measure or subjective), chills, rigors (shivers), myalgia (muscle aches), headache, sore throat, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, congestion or runny nose; OR
- At least one of the following symptoms: cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, new olfactory disorder, new taste disorder.
- For students with chronic illness, only new symptoms, or symptoms worse than baseline should be used to fulfill symptom-based exclusion criteria.
COVID-19 exclusion criteria for persons who have COVID-19 compatible symptoms or who test positive for COVID-19 are listed below:
- Ill individuals with COVID-19 compatible symptoms who have not been tested or individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 should stay home until at least 10 days have passed since symptom onset and at least 24 hours have passed after resolution of fever without fever reducing medications and improvement in symptoms.
- Persons who test positive for COVID-19, but who are asymptomatic should stay home for 10 days from the positive test result.
- An alternate diagnosis (including a positive strep test or influenza swab) without a negative COVID-19 test is not acceptable for individuals who meet COVID-19 exclusion criteria to return to school during periods of moderate, high, or very high community transmission.
Since our area is currently in the Orange (High) level, recommended quarantine time by the NJ DOH and Monmouth County Health Department is 14-days. If you choose to pursue COVID-19 testing, please obtain testing through a healthcare provider, authorized vendor, or authorized agency. The School Nurse will need proof of the test results in writing. Free testing resources are provided below.
Thank you for your consideration and support. Our goal is to safeguard student and staff health in order to maintain the five-day, full-day, in-person schedule. If you have any questions, including whether your child can gain access to remote instruction in this circumstance, please contact your School Nurse.
Resources:
NJ Department of Education Road Forward Plan: www.nj.gov/education/roadforward
NJ Department of Health COVID-19 Information for Schools: www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/covid2019_schools.shtml
Free COVID-19 Testing Locations:
- Pharmacy Town - (732) 493-5100 (Adults and children. Spanish speaking.) 1560 Highway 35, Ocean, NJ 07712 (located inside of Super Foodtown of Ocean)
- Keyport Community Health Center (PCR Test only) – (732) 888-4149. 35 Broad Street, Keyport, NJ 07735
- Asbury Park Community Health Center (PCR Test only) – (732) 774-6333. 1301 Main Street, Asbury Park, NJ 07712
- Soul Focus (PCR only) – (732) 935-1000. 7 Meridian Road, Eatontown, NJ 07724 (https://www.soulfocus.com/covidtesting)
- Walgreens (any location, ages 3+): www.walgreens.com/findcare/covid19/testing
- CVS (any location): https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing
Sincerely,
Scott T. McCue
Superintendent of Schools