YMCA Serving A Maplewood Elementary School Reports Covid Case

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Schools in the Maplewood School District remain remote until at least Jan. 19, but a local facility that provides on-site aftercare to students has reported a positive case among staff.

"Dear families," said a letter on Saturday from the South Mountain YMCA — which has been providing aftercare on-site at Tuscan Elementary School this year — "We were notified that a staff person in Group 6 at the Tuscan Afternoon Program has tested positive for COVID-19. As a precaution, we are informing all families of children at the Tuscan Afternoon program."

Tuscan is an elementary school located on Harvard Avenue.

"Upon learning of this," the letter says, "we immediately enacted our COVID response plan and contacted our local health department. The Health Department is requiring that the staff member NOT attend our program for two weeks, and to monitor their symptoms. In addition the children in group 6 are also required to quarantine for two weeks.

"In accordance with the health department's recommendations, families are strongly encouraged to monitor their children for any symptoms that could be related to COVID-19.

"We continue to take steps to reduce the spread of any germs, including deep cleaning and sanitizing the classroom using hospital grade disinfectant.

"Per our health and safety measures, we have been limiting classrooms to groups of 15 children and are not combining groups in our center.

"As per our Health and Safety Guidelines, if an individual has a fever, cough, new loss of taste or smell or shortness of breath and has not been around anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, they should stay home and away from others until 72 hours after the fever is gone ...
If an individual is in close contact with someone with the virus, but is not currently sick, they should monitor their health for fever, cough, and shortness of breath during the 14 days after the last day they were in close contact with the sick person with COVID-19. They should not go to work or child care and should avoid public places for 14 days..."

The letter is signed by Leah Greene, the senior program director at the South Mountain YMCA.

Meanwhile, the South Orange-Maplewood teachers' union has asked the school board to delay the hybrid on-site reopening on Jan. 19. But as of now, the district is still planning to reopen buildings on that date. They provided a new update on various aspects of reopening on Friday.

To see that recent update from the district, released Friday, click here.

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