Morris Schools Return To Class Amid 218 Active COVID Cases

MORRISTOWN, NJ — The Morris School District returned Monday from winter break, but the school community hasn't been immune to the statewide surge in COVID-19 cases. Entering the new year, more than 200 people in the school community had an active case, according to the district.

Several New Jersey school districts opted to temporarily go remote amid the pandemic's holiday surge. Many districts are wrestling with controlling the spread of the virus within their schools while attempting to keep education in-person.

Morris school officials reminded parents of the following in a Saturday letter:

"As we explained in previous updates, we do not have the authority to determine if the District can pivot to virtual learning and cannot implement virtual learning on an ad hoc basis unless a student has been quarantined. The Governor took that option away; only 'a declared state of emergency, declared public health emergency, or a directive and/or recommendation by the appropriate health agency or officer to institute a public health-related closure' could result in the closure of our schools and the implementation of virtual instruction."

The district had 218 active cases as of Saturday, according to its coronavirus dashboard. See below:

The Centers for Disease Control announced Dec. 27 that people with COVID-19 should quarantine for five days, rather than 10, if they are asymptomatic. The agency quietly updated the reduced quarantine to include people whose symptoms are resolving — meaning no fever for 24 hours.

Federal health officials may add a negative test as part of its guidance for a five-day quarantine. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House's top medical advisor, cited significant "pushback" from health professionals against the reduced quarantine guidance.

But meanwhile, the CDC has not applied its reduced quarantine and isolation guidelines to the general population of K-12 schools.

"We have been informed by the NJ Department of Education that we should continue to follow conventional isolation and quarantine timeframes: 10-day quarantine without a negative test; 7-day quarantine with a negative test taken between days 5-7," the Morris School District said.

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