Summit And Other Area Schools Revise Coronavirus Protocols

SUMMIT, NJ — Local schools have revised their protocol about handling the novel coronavirus this week, including one local district, Cranford, that announced it will close on March 16 to make preparations.

On Thursday, the state Department of Education added more guidelines for schools in the state, giving protocol for when districts can close. They also said that students may be able to learn at home to meet the state's requirement for 180 days of school.

As a result, some local districts have started announcing new preparations.

On Thursday, Summit Schools Superintendent June Chang responded to the state guidelines by posting a letter on the district website telling parents that if they learn at home, it will count toward the state's 180 day of schools.

The Millburn schools released a letter Friday saying they are preparing virtual lessons in case they have to close.

Four people in New Jersey had been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus as of Friday night.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

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