No More Contact Tracing For Cranford Schools, Superintendent Says

CRANFORD, NJ — In light of COVID-19 cases trending in a positive direction throughout the district and region, Superintendent Scott Rubin announced a series of updates regarding COVID policies in the schools.

In an email to the community on Friday, Rubin said full-scale contact tracing and quarantines for close contacts will end effective immediately at Cranford Schools. Rubin said there was only one positive COVID-19 case in the entire district this week.

Based on the NJ Department of Health's new CALI report Thursday, Rubin said although Cranford is still in the yellow, or "moderate transmission" category, the region is now only 0.39% away from being green, the lowest category level of transmission.

According to the CDC, the COVID-19 Community Level for Union County is already green, their lowest level.

In addition to this positive data, the CDC released new guidance stating that “Universal case investigation and contact tracing are no longer recommended.” The CDC said this decision was informed, in part, by high level of infection of vaccine-induced immunity, availability of safe vaccines, increased use of self-tests, emergence of variants with shorter incubation periods and significant numbers of asymptomatic or mild cases of COVID-19.

Rubin said families should continue to monitor their children for symptoms and keep them home if they are sick. Parents/guardians should get their children tested if symptoms begin.

Students that are symptomatic must not be sent to school. The Symptom Awareness Form outlines details regarding COVID-related symptoms.

For those with medically documented chronic illness/allergies, Rubin said only new symptoms or symptoms worse than baseline should be considered for the exclusion criteria.

The district has also modified their COVID-19 Dashboard to include the grade-level of children who tested positive so parents/guardians can monitor and take appropriate precautions.

Families are encourage to continue reporting positive cases to the district. After COVID isolation, students may return to school on day 6 if asymptomatic or if symptoms improve. Masks will be required to wear in school on days 6-10 for those returning after a positive result.

"I realize that there are individuals that would have liked the District to move quicker towards normalcy, while others may feel we are moving too quickly," Rubin wrote. "Please know we will continue to follow the NJDOE/NJDOH and local health department guidance as we continue to keep our community safe, adapt to the ever changing circumstances, and safely work our way back."

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