Schools statewide are now following the Department of Health’s new guidelines for people who test positive for COVID-19. Isolation time has been halved to five days. About one-fifth of all New Jersey schools are now teaching remotely and all regions of the state are reporting high rates of transmission. The change in guidance follows that of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and comes as health commissioner Judy Persichilli has been stressing the importance of in-person learning. The move is receiving mixed responses from health and school officials alike.
“The guidance talks about days one to five as the period with the most contagion. But as we talk to health officials we understand that there may be a clarification because contact tracing and conversations up to this point have always considered 48 hours prior to the onset of symptoms as being part of that contagious period,” said Richard Bozza, executive director of New Jersey Association of School Administrators.
