Millburn Schools Clean ‘High-Contact’ Areas To Deal With Flu

MILLBURN, NJ — Staff in Millburn’s public schools will be sanitizing “high-contact surfaces” at facilities in the district in the face of an active flu season, authorities said.

According to a Feb. 9 superintendent’s update from the Millburn Public School District, “due to the high numbers of cases of influenza around the state and the country,” Buildings and Grounds Director Carlos Edmundo has instructed custodians to intensify their proactive sanitizing of high contact surfaces in the district’s schools.

“This program is in addition to the regular daily cleaning and sanitizing schedule currently in place,” Millburn school administrators said.

According to state Department of Health statistics, the number of flu cases in New Jersey have more than doubled this season, jumping from 1,507 in 2016-17 to 3,189 in 2017-18.

• See related article: Saint Barnabas Hospital Has Some Visiting Restrictions Due To Flu

According to school officials, the following surfaces will be cleaned with district-approved cleaners, sanitizers and disinfectants “multiple times” throughout the day and evening:

• Cafeteria Tables
• Panic Bars
• Desk Tops
• Door Knobs
• Door Pulls
• Drinking Fountain Bubblers and Faucets
• Elevator Buttons
• Faucet Knobs
• Fitness Equipment
• Flush Valves
• Hand Rails
• Hand Towel Dispensers
• Locker Room Benches
• Push Plates
• Toilet Stall Doors and Latches

“This list is not all-inclusive and shall apply to any other surface contacted on a regular basis within our schools,” administrators stated.

School officials asked parents to remind their children that the CDC’s recommendations for prevention include:

• Wash your hands often (with soap and water)
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth
• Cover your coughs and sneezes, and clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with flu viruses
• Get a flu shot

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