This afternoon, we were made aware that a district staff member has come in to close contact with a person who possessed symptoms of the Coronavirus. That person was tested and is awaiting results. The good news is that our staff member has not exhibited any symptoms and is feeling fine. We have been in contact with the Monmouth County Department of Health and our Executive County Superintendent to discuss this situation.
As a precautionary measure, we are closing all UFRSD schools tomorrow, Thursday, March 12th. In talking with our Department of Health, they believed that we would still be able to open tomorrow, but we felt that we would rather make sure that our buildings are deeply cleaned and scrubbed before our students return. In our conversations, it was clear that a person who is not symptomatic is not spreading the virus, so we feel fortunate to be able to give the buildings a deep cleaning just to be sure. We are closing schools out of an abundance of caution in an effort to ensure that our students and staff are safe.
The day will count as one of our three snow days that are embedded into the calendar.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out me.
I appreciate your patience and support with this situation.
My best,
Mark Guterl
Superintendent of School
Added to this page rather than start another post:
Senior Wellness Event and Spring Social cancelled by the Mayor due to concerns over the Coronavirus.
Dear residents of Allentown,
As your Mayor, my primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of our community and take every precaution necessary. After careful consideration and consultation with our emergency management official, Chief of Police and review of local, county and state advisories, I have decided to cancel the Senior Wellness Event scheduled for March 18th and the Spring Social scheduled for March 30th.
These decisions never come easy but we must consider what is the best interest of our Seniors who are most at risk. We will be monitoring every report closely and will continue to push out the appropriate messages to keep all residents informed.
We are also working with our neighboring municipalities and the UFRSD to maintain a high level of communication and preparedness. On behalf of the Governing Body, we appreciate your understanding.
UPDATE: ADDED ROBBINSVILLE AND HAMILTON TWP SCHOOLS UPDATE TO BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE RATHER THAN START AN ADDITIONAL POST SEE BELOW:
March 11, 2020
ROBBINSVILLE, NJ (MERCER)–On Tuesday, March 10, 2020, Robbinsville Township and the West Windsor Health Department released a statement informing the community of an active public health investigation involving an office site located in Robbinsville Township.
A non-government employee of that office, which is not a municipal building, tested presumptive positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus). Test results from the New Jersey State lab are deemed presumptive until confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The West Windsor Health Department, which serves Robbinsville, is working with other health agencies in investigating a clearly defined group of people who came in contact with this individual, who is an employee of Mercer Bucks Cardiology-Jefferson University Hospitals at 1 Union Street in Robbinsville.
The male individual, who recently traveled to Italy, was asymptomatic when he returned to the workplace for one day on March 3, 2020. On March 4, the individual developed mild symptoms and did not return to the workplace. The practice closed the office immediately, advised staff to self-quarantine at home and implemented an enhanced cleaning process. The office remains closed.
The West Windsor Health Department was notified of the presumptive positive case of COVID-19 on Tuesday, March 10 and immediately took appropriate protective measures to prevent the spread of the virus. As an added precaution, building management is currently performing enhanced cleaning of the building’s common areas.
The Robbinsville OEM, Robbinsville Township Mayor Dave Fried and the West Windsor Township Health Department are dedicated to stopping the spread of COVID-19 and are working with dedicated teams of local, state and federal officials to ensure a safe community.
ROBBINSVILLE SCHOOLS:
March 11, 2020
Dear Parents and Community Members,
As we continue to take a proactive and precautionary approach, we have decided to cancel some larger scale school-related events so we can focus on keeping our buildings clean and healthy for student learning during the day. We will monitor these decisions as necessary; therefore, as of this date we are cancelling events through March 21, 2020. Again, we are actively communicating with our local health officials to guide us in our decision making. As we work through this challenge, please know we will provide updates as new information is available. Please see the following events that will be cancelled and rescheduled if possible.
March 11th: Third Grade Recorder Concert, SES, 7 pm
March 13th: Fifth Grade Social, Pond, 7-9 pm
March 14th & 15th: FIRST Robotics Competition
March 15th: RHS Trivia Night, RHS, 4:30-8 pm
March 16th: Attitudes in Reverse Parent Education Night for grades 7-12, RHS, 7 pm
March 18th: Child Assault Prevention Program for First Grade Parents, 7 pm
March 20th: Sixth Grade Social, Pond, 7-9 pm
As always, we thank you for your support and partnership.
Hamilton Township School District Coronavirus Preparedness
Hamilton, NJ. In the last week, the Hamilton Township School District (HTSD) participated in a number of conference calls with the New Jersey Department of Health, as well as the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE). The culmination of these meetings have allowed us to coordinate efforts regarding educating our students should a school or schools be required to close by order of the New Jersey Department of Health or the Hamilton Township Department of Health. It is important to note, that NO school district may “independently” make the decision to close and have that day count toward the 180 day requirement. Only in the event that a school district has a written directive from the Department of Health to close, can the day be counted if instruction is provided. If HTSD were required to close a school or the district by order of the New Jersey Department of Health or Local Health Department, and our preparedness plan was implemented, remote learning from our students’ homes would count toward the required 180 days of school. Departments, schools and employees have worked together to develop plans and resources for instruction and operations of the district. The Department of Curriculum and Instruction is currently working with the Department of Student Services and our professional teaching staff to ensure that the needs of all learners are addressed within this plan. Our Business office is currently developing the necessary provisions for school nutrition planning with our Food Service Provider (as required). Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Scott Rocco, explained that, “the NJDOE has issued guidance on ‘remote learning’. The term remote learning is important because it takes into account that not all families have the ability to connect to the Internet through a device, if a school or schools need to be closed. On Monday, March 9th, building principals designated a time to ask students if they have a device and Internet access at home. This information was vital to the development of our remote learning plans.” The survey reported that approximately 87% of students have both a device and online access at home.
At this time, HTSD has a systematic framework for preparedness planning aligned to expectations of the NJDOE, and we are finalizing the document for submission to the Mercer County Executive County Superintendent. With this framework, our professional staff and administration are working collaboratively to develop a series of “remote” learning opportunities for our students that will offer a combination of on-line activities as well as traditional instructional activities (as required). Within the schools, HTSD continues to implement an enhanced daily cleaning and sanitizing plan. This cleaning uses a combination of both mechanical and chemical cleaning phases that are focused on common touch points including door knobs, sinks, water fountains, computer keyboards, student desks, chairs, cafeteria tables, chairs, etc. Additionally, we have deployed more hand sanitizer dispensers throughout our facilities in order to provide our students and staff with continuous access to disinfectants as needed. On March 2, 2020, HTSD established a webpage entitled Coronavirus Information on the district’s website and each school’s webpage. This page is continually updated with information and correspondence from the district. In addition to information being provided on the new webpage, Dr. Rocco has also communicated with faculty and staff through the district’s email system. One of the many concerns being addressed is that HTSD understands that the news about COVID-19 may be difficult for our children to hear and they may have many questions. HTSD offered the following resource from the National Association of School Psychologists on Talking to Children about COVID-19 (Coronavirus): A Parent Resource. This resource offered guidelines on talking to children about the coronavirus. Moving forward, HTSD encourages our school community to: • visit our website for updates as more information becomes available; • follow our Social Media feeds for updates @WeAreHTSD on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram; • update their contact information on the School Messenger and Parent Portal systems. If you have not already completed the HTSD Back To School Portal, please make sure to do so by following the directions here. We highly recommend that all parents/guardians provide their email and opt-in for district text updates; • cover your cough and sneeze into your sleeve (not your hands); • avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth (if possible); • wash your hands often with soap and water, for at least 20 seconds, especially if you are coughing or sneezing. Please know that there is nothing more important to us than ensuring the health, safety and security of our students, faculty, and staff. We will continue to collaborate effectively with our Township and State Health Departments. We look forward to continuing to partner with our community members and will provide additional updates and information as it becomes available. If you have any questions or concerns about this information please contact Laura Geltch. We thank you for your continued support and partnership.
As we stated before at MidJersey.news keep calm and wash your hands just like the CDC has been saying. You should have been doing that anyway all the time to prevent spread of disease. Wash those hands.
MidJersey.News 
You must be logged in to post a comment.