Unvaccinated Students Who Travel Far For Turkey Day Must Go Remote: Maplewood Schools

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange-Maplewood schools are telling parents who travel out of contiguous states for Thanksgiving that if their kids are unvaccinated, they must quarantine for 7 to 10 days before returning to school.

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However, students who stay within Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, or Delaware may return to school on the regular date, Monday, Nov. 29.

The district sent out a survey last week to collect information from families who planned to travel far and whose kids aren't yet vaccinated for COVID-19. The district told families to return the survey by this Monday so the district could plan remote learning.

The FDA only recommended vaccinations for children 5-11 two weeks ago, so those children have not yet received their second vaccines.

"If you recently opted to have your child vaccinated in accordance with the new CDC endorsement and recommendation for children 5 to 11 years old," the survey said, "please note that
your child will NOT be considered fully vaccinated until TWO WEEKS AFTER they receive their second dose of the vaccine (which is after we return from Thanksgiving Break)."

Students returning from far travel must take a coronavirus test, and then quarantine for 7-10 days, the district said.

If students test negative on day 3, 4, 5 after returning from travel, they can return to school in seven days. If they refuse to test, they must quarantine for 10 days.

"During a student’s quarantine period, they will receive virtual instruction," the district said. "Please note that we strive to minimize the disruption to student learning during the quarantine period by having systems in place for students to receive virtual instructional support that is
commensurate with their normal school day. Again, it is imperative that families of UNVACCINATED students who plan to travel during the Thanksgiving break, outside of the PA, NJ, NY, CT, and DE areas fill out the Thanksgiving Break Travel Survey by Monday, November 22."

The news may be unwelcome to those who saw repeated delays in reopening the district last year. However, the district has been open this year since Sept. 13 after a short delay due to Hurricane Ida damage. READ MORE: Maplewood Students Attend Sit-In

And families interviewed on TV on News12 said they actually appreciate the policy, as it will keep the rest of the student population in school.

In the last two days, there have been 3 new COVID-19 cases reported in Maplewood, according to Essex County. There have been 1,629 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic and 42 deaths in that town.

But hospitalizations in New Jersey are starting to tick up again, primarily among unvaccinated patients, the governor said. The levels are still much lower than earlier this year. READ MORE: NJ COVID Hospitalizations, Ventilator Use Up

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