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Positive Case Policy & Process
COVID-19 Case Policy
If a student or employee is diagnosed with COVID-19, they must stay home. Community members testing positive for COVID-19 will be quarantined for 10 days. In order to return, the community member must be fever-free for 24 hours without use of fever-reducing medication and asymptomatic for ten (10) days. According to CDC guidelines, the community member will not need to submit a negative COVID-19 test, but will be required to submit medical clearance from a healthcare provider prior to returning to school or work.
If a student or employee becomes in close contact with a COVID-19 positive person, the individual will need to quarantine. See details below.
For employees, Newark Academy will provide paid leave (without affecting PTO) for up to the anticipated quarantine timeframe. Students will receive academic accommodations during their absence.
Newark Academy school nurses and the Director of Human Resources will monitor and respond to absenteeism for both students and employees, respectively.
Newark Academy will work with our school physician, school nurses, and the local Board of Health/CDC guidelines to maintain confidentiality when addressing and communicating about any suspected cases of COVID-19 within our school community, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
After a positive case, Newark Academy will adhere to the CDC’s Public Health Guidance for Community Exposure.
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Announcement
The entire school community will receive a brief announcement stating that “Newark Academy has been informed of a positive COVID test result within our community. We are conducting appropriate contact tracing and will be reaching out to all students and employees who may have been in close contact with the person who tested positive.”
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If an employee or student is diagnosed with COVID-19, they must stay home and isolate from others. In order to return, the community member can return “10 days after symptoms first appeared,” assuming they have gone “24 hours with no fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving.” According to CDC guidelines, the community member will not need to submit a negative COVID-19 test.
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Contact Tracing & Close Contacts
Newark Academy’s in-house contact tracing team will review information (calendars, security camera footage, etc.) to determine the individuals who may have been in close contact with the COVID positive individual. See quarantine instructions below.
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Campus Status
This process of isolation and quarantine should permit the majority of the school to continue in-person teaching, learning and working.
Future all-school closures will be determined, in consultation with the Livingston Board of Health, based on the number of unrelated positive cases in the school at any one time. However, Newark Academy will adhere to any mandates by the Governor of New Jersey regarding future school closures.
If a positive test occurs, the school will undergo a deep cleaning and sanitization based on CDC guidelines. Any classroom in which the employee or student spent more than 15 minutes would be closed for at least 24 hours.
*Community-wide response when a case or cases occur will be dependent on a range of factors. According to the CDC’s “Safe Return” guidelines, “a single case of COVID-19 in a school would not likely warrant closing the entire school, especially if levels of community transmission are not high. The levels of community transmission described above and the extent of close contacts of the individual who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 should all be considered before closing.” Newark Academy would base its decision on the “level of community transmission” (Appendix), other state and local public health metrics as indicated on this document, the guidance of the Livingston Board of Health and other governmental and health officials. The school’s response could include the need for community members to quarantine themselves, enhanced monitoring, testing, or a shift in mode of learning. Newark Academy will prioritize the health and safety of all of its community members when making decisions about school operations.
School Actions After A Positive Case
After a positive case, Newark Academy will adhere to the guidance of the NJDOH and the CDC. If an individual in the community has had “close contact” with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, that individual will be asked to quarantine and stay home from school, returning only if they remain asymptomatic throughout the quarantine.
The length of quarantine will be dependent on the current risk level for the Northeast Region identified weekly by the New Jersey Department of Health. If the risk level at the start of the quarantine is “Low” or “Moderate,” the quarantine will be 10 days in length; if the level is “High” or “Very High,” the quarantine will last 14 days. The community member will need to re-enter Newark Academy’s pooled testing program on the last testing date prior to discontinuation of their quarantine. If at any point during quarantine, a community member becomes symptomatic, she/he should seek medical advice from her/his doctor and notify the Nurses’ office.
Newark Academy will follow the guidance of the Livingston Board of Health and the CDC in determining whether individuals have had “close contact.” The CDC defines close contacts as someone “who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.”
Quarantine For Close Contacts
COVID Exclusion Chart
Scenario | Low/Moderate Risk Level | High/Very High Risk Level |
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COVID-19 Positive | 10 days after symptoms first appeared | 10 days after symptoms first appeared |
Close Contact of COVID-19 Positive | 10 days w/re-entry to NA’s pooled testing program | 14 days w/re-entry to NA’s pooled testing program |
Travel outside the region | 10 days w/re-entry to NA’s pooled testing program | 10 days w/re-entry to NA’s pooled testing program |
Student-Athletes and Family Members
Student-athletes who test positive for COVID-19 will follow the above protocols (i.e. a 10-day quarantine, no symptoms for 10 days, and fever less than 100.4 for 24 hours) before returning to school. For those student-athletes who experienced mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms, cardiac clearance will be at the discretion of the student's physician. For student-athletes who experienced severe COVID-19 symptoms and/or required hospitalization, cardiac clearance will be required prior to participation in sports.
Parents of students or family members of employees in the same household testing positive will be deemed as having been in “close contact” and must stay home and notify the appropriate administrators, HR, or attendance office to report their absence and possible exposure to COVID-19. Refer to the CDC guidelines for how to conduct a risk assessment of their potential exposure.
Closure
After a positive case, Newark Academy will adhere to the guidance of the NJDOH and the CDC. If an individual in the community has had “close contact” with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, that individual will be asked to quarantine and stay home from school, returning only if they remain asymptomatic throughout the quarantine.
The length of quarantine will be dependent on the current risk level for the Northeast Region identified weekly by the New Jersey Department of Health. If the risk level at the start of the quarantine is “Low” or “Moderate,” the quarantine will be 10 days in length; if the level is “High” or “Very High,” the quarantine will last 14 days. The community member will need to re-enter Newark Academy’s pooled testing program on the last testing date prior to discontinuation of their quarantine. If at any point during quarantine, a community member becomes symptomatic, she/he should seek medical advice from her/his doctor and notify the Nurses’ office.
Newark Academy will follow the guidance of the Livingston Board of Health and the CDC in determining whether individuals have had “close contact.” The CDC defines close contacts as someone “who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.”
Quarantine Policy For Fully Vaccinated Individuals
In keeping with new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Newark Academy community members who are “fully vaccinated” will no longer need to quarantine if they are deemed to have been in close contact with someone who is COVID-19 positive. This policy applies only if the individual:
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received the final dose of their vaccine at least 14 days before the date in which they were in close contact with the individual testing positive for COVID-19
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received the final dose of their vaccine within the past three months
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remains asymptomatic following their close contact with the person who has tested positive for COVID-19
All “fully vaccinated” individuals are still required to participate in Newark Academy’s testing program in order to be on campus. Regardless of a Newark Academy community member’s vaccination status, all students and employees who are on campus must comply with NA’s health and safety protocols. This includes the continued practice of mask wearing, hand washing and social distancing.
