COVID Information
Westwood Regional School District
2022-2023 School Year
Site Updated January 1, 2023
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If a student Tests positive
If a student Tests positive
You should stay home and isolate for at least 5 days.
If you have no symptoms or your symptoms are resolving after 5 days, you can return to school. You may choose to wear a mask; that is optional.
If you have a fever, continue to stay home until you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and other symptoms improve.
General Practices
General Practices
The use of the District's Covid Dashboard has been discontinued. According to the NJDOH, "schools may transition away from a case-investigation response model to a routine disease control model in schools. This model focuses more on response to clusters of cases, outbreaks, and evidence of ongoing transmission in schools, and less on individual case investigation and contact tracing." As a result, parents/guardians will be notified by the School Nurse if there are three or more directly related cases in a classroom. Only the parents/guardians of those students will be notified, per the advice of the District’s Physician. If we experience an outbreak, the class may transition to remote learning if a high number of cases is preventing timely contact tracing.
Parents and guardians will not be able to opt-out of in-person instruction, per Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 175.
There will be no watch-along instruction for students who are absent due to Covid. Instead, Covid absences will be treated as a regular sick absence.
Layered Protection and Control Strategies
Layered Protection and Control Strategies
The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) suggests should put in place a core set of infectious disease prevention strategies as part of their normal operations. The WWRSD continues to implement the following practices:
providing information to parents/guardians on Covid symptoms
supporting mask use by students and staff who choose to mask
continuing to report outbreaks and suspect outbreaks to the Northwest Bergen Regional Health Commission
following NJDOH reporting requirements for reportable diseases
encouraging hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette
routinely cleaning and disinfecting
maintaining appropriate airflow
22-23 Safe Return Plan.docx (1) December.pdfSafe Return Plan
Safe Return Plan
BoE Approved December 15, 2022
2022-2023 Remote Instruction Plan.pdfRemote Instruction Plan
Remote Instruction Plan
August 2022
Outbreaks
Outbreaks
Schools report outbreaks or suspected outbreaks of all communicable diseases, including COVID-19 to their local health department (LHD). The LHD works with schools to determine if there is an outbreak and provides guidance as to a response. An outbreak of COVID-19 in a school setting is defined as three or more individuals (positive by RT-PCR or antigen) among students or staff with illness onsets within a 14-day period, who are epidemiologically linked, do not share a household, and were not identified as close contacts of each other in another setting during standard case investigation or contact tracing.
Parents/guardians will be notified by the School Nurse if there are three or more directly related cases in a classroom. Only the parents/guardians of those students will be notified, per the advice of the District’s Physician.
Masking
Masking
Masks are optional.
The Board directs that any mandate for individuals to wear facial masks while indoors is solely based upon the Governor’s executive orders to do so and will only remain in effect so long as the executive order(s) remain valid and/or if lawfully recommended by the District physician.
Desk Shields
Desk Shields
We believe in parental/caregiver choice; therefore, whether a student uses a desk shield in the classroom and at lunch/snack is up to them. Students will be responsible for the transportation of their shields around the building.
Ventilation
Ventilation
Windows may be kept open, as long as the classroom temperature is at least 68 degrees.
Meals
Meals
Meals will be served inside under normal operating conditions.
Cleaning and Maintaining Healthy Facilities
Cleaning and Maintaining Healthy Facilities
Our District's cleaning program is based upon the "flu protocol" that is deployed during flu season. It encompasses all of the CDC recommendations for the extra cleaning of common touchpoints. The cleaning chemicals the District uses are not only Green Seal Certified, but they are also EPA registered to kill coronavirus. The District uses a product called "Bioesque" that has an EPA registered kill time for the coronavirus of under a minute. The District employs the use of electrostatic sprayers with a stabilized chlorine solution, and our custodians receive ongoing training on proper cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfection techniques.
The Bioesque and Disinfecting Wipes are both under the List N from the EPA.
Bioesque Solutions, active ingredient Thymol, registration number 87742-1-92595.
Disinfectant Wipes Plus 2, active ingredient Quaternary ammonium, registration number 6836-340-75399
The electrostatic sprayer is allowed to be used as long as the room/area is not occupied. Occupants can re-enter the room/area within minutes after spraying is done. The bioesque will have the area disinfected in 60 seconds. The wipes will have the area disinfected in 4 minutes.
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