Montclair Schools Stick With 10-Day COVID Quarantine Period

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Montclair’s schools are sticking with a 10-day coronavirus quarantine period for many students out of an “abundance of caution,” district officials say.

The decision comes despite the New Jersey Department of Health’s recent announcement that K-12 schools can now cut the recommended time for isolation and quarantine time to five days if students are asymptomatic, followed by five days of wearing a mask when around others.

• See related article: COVID Isolation Rules Changed For NJ Schools

“We have conferred with our medical professionals, and out of an abundance of caution we will continue to require a 10-day quarantine period,” Montclair School Superintendent Jonathan Ponds said Friday.

Ponds said that students, teachers and staff who come into close contact with someone with COVID-19, are asymptomatic and are in one of the following groups do not need to quarantine:

• People who are ages 18 and older and have received all recommended vaccine doses, including boosters and additional primary shots for some immunocompromised people.
• People who are ages 5–17 years and completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines.
• People who had confirmed COVID-19 within the last 90 days (tested positive).

“As recommended by the CDC and mandated by Gov. Phil Murphy in Executive Order 281, indoor masking will continue in our schools for all individuals including students, teachers, staff, and visitors, regardless of vaccination status,” Ponds added.

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