COVID Test-To-Stay: Hoboken Among NJ Districts Implementing Plan

HOBOKEN, NJ — In an effort to keep students coming to school in person after an in-class COVID exposure, the state of New Jersey is considering how to implement a "test-to-stay" plan, allowing kids to stay in school if they continually test negative.

Hoboken is among the districts implementing the plan, and Long Valley and Rockaway are considering it, officials said.

The plan has caused some confusion in school districts because there are exceptions: For instance, the program is not available in New Jersey for kids in pre-kindergarten right now.

Students will need to take a rapid test and then periodic tests, which means school staff and tests must be available in districts implementing the plan.

The administration of U.S. Pres Joe Biden said Wednesday it will provide 10 million free COVID-19
tests a month to U.S. schools to keep classes in person in New Jersey and elsewhere amid the omicron surge. READ MORE: 10M COVID Tests Monthly To U.S. Schools: What It Means In NJ

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said this week that because of a shortage of school staff and tests, districts in the state are currently not required to implement it, according to the Record.

CDC is expected to soon release new "test-to-stay" guidance.

Remote And In Person After Winter Break

After winter break, most schools in the United States returned in person, but many in New Jersey did not, citing positive COVID tests and lack of staff. Locally, Hoboken, Jersey City, and most other Hudson County districts began the new year remote.

The White House said 96 percent of schools opened for in-person learning after the holiday break, compared with 46 percent in January 2021. Without adequate testing, critics have said, schools become superspreader settings.

Hoboken schools went remote last week for three days to allow time for students to test for COVID. For the current week, students were given the option of remote or on-site education. READ MORE: COVID Hospitalizations In Hoboken Climb To 40

The city of Hoboken said Monday that Hoboken University Medical Center currently has 40 patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Of those patients, 11 are Hoboken residents, seven vaccinated and four unvaccinated. The city does not have the vaccination information on the others.

The number of fatalities remains 57. The city reported last week that a resident in his 60s had died of COVID, the first person to die of the virus since the summer.

The city said that the Hoboken Health Department confirmed 571 COVID-19 new cases from Jan. 1 through Jan. 7.

Hoboken has added several testing sites. Appointments to be vaccinated or get a test via the city can be booked online at www.hobokennj.gov/vaccine or at www.hobokennj.gov/testing

Hudson County also has a vaccination center here.

New Jersey health officials have launched a website where people can search for COVID-19 testing facilities near them or across the state. Users are advised to double check the accuracy of the hours, and eligibility, by calling the site before heading over. Go to the site here.

In America, more than, 835,000 people have died of COVID since the start of the pandemic. The daily death rate is highest right now in these states: Michigan, Tennessee, Arizona, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania.

Patch Editor Michelle Rotuno-Johnson contributed to the reporting for this story.

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