Summit public schools virtual health office

Please continue to follow these important protocols:

ILLNESS GUIDELINES:

Please keep your child home if she/he is sick.

When should I keep my child home from school? A student should be kept home if he/she has:

COVID-19: Tested positive for COVID 19, or is exhibiting COVID like symptoms. If your child tests positive for COVID-19, immediately contact your child's school secretary or school nurse. Please click on the "Reporting" tab at the top of this page to provide, and receive, additional information related to your child's COVID diagnosis or exposure. Please see below for additional COVID-19 guidelines.

Fever of 100.5F or higher. Students must be fever free for 24 hours without fever reducing medications (such as Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen) in order to return to school.

Vomiting or diarrhea: Students must be free from vomiting and/or diarrhea for 24 hours prior to returning to school.

Strept throat: Students must receive 24 hours of antibiotic treatment prior to returning to school.

Pink eye with discharge: Medical clearance and treatment for 24 hours is required prior to returning to school.

Any unexplained rash or draining sores: Rashes require a doctor's note for clearance to return to school.

Head lice or nits (eggs): Please notify the school if your child has lice. Students are required to show proof of treatment, and must be checked by the school nurse for clearance in order to return to school.

COVID 19

During medium and high (yellow and orange) community levels, the NJ Department of Health recommends COVID testing when symptomatic (Union county is currently yellow).

It is recommended that students who who have two or more symptoms from category A, or at least one symptom from category B, test for COVID.

A: 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;

B: At least one of the following symptoms: cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, new loss of smell, or new loss of taste.

COVID ISOLATION GUIDELINES

All COVID positive students (regardless of vaccination status) must complete a full 5 isolation period (with day 0 being the date of the positive test or the date of first symptoms) in order to return to school.

Students returning to school on day 6 will be required to wear a mask at school on days 6-10 (Unless they present a negative COVID test on days 6 and 8). Please contact your school nurse to confirm all return dates. Virtual instruction is no longer available during COVID isolation.

Full, partial and unvaccinated close contacts are NOT required to quarantine, and may continue to attend school and participate in all activities as long as they remain asymptomatic. It is recommended that all individuals get tested for COVID-19 at least 5 days after the close contact with a person with suspected on confirmed COVID-19, continue to monitor for symptoms for 14 days.**An individual is considered fully vaccinated two weeks post second vaccine.

DISTRICT COVID TESTING GUIDELINES

General COVID testing guidelines:

Rapid or PCR COVID tests are acceptable when testing at home, a doctor's office or as part of a tele-med visit if a student is symptomatic. We recommend consulting with your child’s physician for their testing recommendations.

Please note, all students awaiting PCR test results must remain home until the test result is returned. If a rapid and a PCR test are obtained at the same time, and the rapid test is negative, students are to remain home until PCR test results are received.

At-Home COVID testing guidelines:

A variety of home-based COVID tests are widely available. Parents/guardians, please be aware that any positive home-based COVID test must be reported immediately to the school nurse and principal, and the student should isolate away at home for 5 days.

The NJ Department of Health considers self-tests to be acceptable in the following settings:

May be used to screen both symptomatic and asymptomatic students.
May be used to implement public health actions (isolation), if the home test is positive.

If a home-based test is positive, but a PCR test obtained within 24 hours of the home-based test is negative, the student may return to school.

DISTRICT MASKING GUIDELINES

Effective March 7, 2022, Summit Public Schools will NOT require the use of masks by students, staff or visitors in our schools, at athletic events or on school buses. The choice to wear or not wear a mask in school will be made at the discretion of each individual person and family.

EXCEPTION- Students returning to school following a 5 day isolation are required to wear a mask at school days 6-10 (including while at recess, during PE class, during extra curricular activities), or until they test negative using two antigen tests collected on day 6 and day 8..

For example: Students obtain a home COVID test the morning of day 6 and again on the morning of day 8. If both tests are negative, the student will no longer be required to wear a mask at school on days 8-10. Please contact your student’s school nurse if you plan on testing on days 6 and 8.

Students unable to wear a mask at school on days 6-10 must remain home in isolation for a full 10 days, and may return to school on day 11. Virtual instruction will be NOT available during this time.

Upon return to school, students are asked to replace their masks as soon as they are done eating.

TRAVEL GUIDELINES

Students and staff members returning to New Jersey after domestic and international travel are not required to quarantine, regardless of vaccination status. The New NJ Department of Health and the CDC recommmends the following for individuals who have traveled abroad:

"After arrival to the United States, all travelers should get tested with a COVID-19 viral test 3-5 days after travel, self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms, and isolate and get tested if they develop symptoms. If you are NOT vaccinated or NOT up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines, you should stay home and self-quarantine for a full 5 days after travel."

CONTACT TRACING GUIDELINES

We are not contact tracing positive COVID cases within the district. Our school nurses will continue to monitor for outbreaks.

CLOSE CONTACTS

A Close Contact is defines as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person (laboratory-confirmed or a clinically compatible illness) for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. Families are NOT required to report close contact COVID exposures to the district, and close contacts are NOT required to quarantine.