Millburn Schools Offer Covid Tests During And After Spring Break

MILLBURN, NJ — The Millburn public schools will close for Spring Break next week, and the district is encouraging families to get tested for coronavirus during and after the break.

The district has set up these dates for students and their families:

• Tuesday, April 13: 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Millburn High School (Not at Hartshorn)
• Tuesday, April 20: 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Millburn High School and 3-5 p.m.: Hartshorn School
• Thursday, April 22: 10:30 am to 2 p.m., Millburn High School. and 3-5 p.m.: Hartshorn School

Register Here: https://backtoworksolutions.com/MillburnPSD.html

Read the full instructions and FAQ here to learn how to register and make an appointment.

Questions about billing can be found here.

Past testing

Superintendent Christine Burton said in her letter on Friday that the district has provided weekly PCR tests to staff and families since early February. In that time, more than 1,360 tests have been administered, she said.

"Many staff and families [have taken] advantage of the convenience to assure that they are not unknowingly transmitting the virus to their families and others in the community," she wrote.

She said over the past 8 weeks, eight cases were identified through the weekly testing.

"Those cases have been a mix of staff members, students, and parents, most of whom had no idea they had been exposed, and were asymptomatic (or presymptomatic) for the disease," she said.

She wrote, "As New Jersey enters a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic according the NJ Department of Health, new daily cases are continuing to rise. We must continue to be vigilant in our mitigation strategies, one of which is the recommendation for regular covid testing."

Statewide, New Jersey reported this week:

• 53 new deaths were confirmed from Monday to Tuesday (22,132 state death toll in total)
• 2,292 people currently hospitalized for the virus as of Monday
• 645 "variants of concern" diagnosed as of Monday

Burton released the following answers to questions, and more information:

Do I need to get tested if I have been vaccinated?

Research is not complete on whether vaccinated people can transmit the disease. As of now children under 16 cannot be vaccinated, and experts are seeing a rise in cases among children, and hospitalizations among young people. It is recommended that testing continue among young people and their families until we have a higher vaccination threshold in the state. As students congregate in sports and other activities, it is important to be sure they are not getting or transmitting the virus to family and friends.

Are we testing our high school athletes regularly?

We are looking into the possibility of providing dedicated testing for the athletes. Because of the way the teams are cohorted for practices and games, the timing can be difficult to provide testing on a regular basis, but we are in discussions about that.

Travel & Quarantine

The school district follows the guidance from the NJ Department of Health. This guidance is more specific to Essex county and our region, which is still in the Orange zone and currently experiencing a high incidence of transmission. This guidance is also aligned with CDC recommendations.

There are 2 times when quarantine is required, travel and close contact:

1. Quarantine for close contact:
A close contact is anyone within 6 feet of a COVID positive person for more than 15 minutes. Anyone identified as a close contact is required to quarantine for 14 days because we are in a high risk situation right now. This will likely change once our infection rates and hospitalization rates reduce, but right now it is 14 days and there is no way to reduce the 14 days. Even a negative test does not change this requirement and if you or your child are quarantined you should not be out in public.

2. Quarantine for Travel:
Quarantine is required after travel out of state or country, (excluding PA, NY, DE, CT) for 10 days (return to school would be on day 11), however a negative test 3-5 days after return reduces the quarantine to 7 days (return to school would be on day 8).

"Thank you for submitting your travel form to your school and for following up with your school nurse," Burton wrote.

Don't miss Millburn breaking news alerts when they are announced, or get a free daily morning newsletter with Millburn news. Sign up with your preferences here.

Got news? Email caren.lissner@patch.com. To be the first to get news alerts with breaking stories in your town, or to get a free local newsletter each morning, sign up for Patch breaking news alerts or daily newsletters.