Social Distance For Many NJ School Students Changes To 3 Feet

NEW JERSEY — The New Jersey Department of Health issued revised guidance for in-class procedures on Wednesday, relaxing social distancing rules for many students and clearing the way for more five-days-a-week in-person instruction.

If masking and handwashing can be consistently done, schools can reduce classroom spacing of students from 6 to 3 feet, Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday.

This is applicable to all elementary schools in the state regardless of community transmission status, Murphy said during a Wednesday news conference.

However, if a middle school or high school is in an area where transmission is high, students should remain at least 6 feet apart if schools aren’t able to keep students and teachers in assigned groups, according to the new guidelines.

Older students have to comply with stricter standards because they have a higher incidence of transmission, officials say.

Six feet of distance is "critical" in indoor common areas where masking is not an option, such as the cafeteria, Murphy said. Six feet is also important in areas where increased exhalation occurs, such as singing.

At least two reports show that many counties still have a high rate of transmission, showing that at least one infected person is currently spreading the disease to one other individual in New Jersey. Read more: 'High' COVID Transmission Across NJ; 21 Counties In 'Red': Feds

But in-school transmission has been low, Murphy said. The number of cases linked to in-person learning since Aug. 1 is 890, fewer than 1 percent of the total cases in New Jersey over that period, Murphy said.

Teachers and staff should still follow health protocols even once they’ve been vaccinated, New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said. That includes wearing a mask, social distancing, avoiding crowds and washing their hands.

But some things will change for vaccinated school employees, Persichilli said Wednesday.
Students and staff must still stay home when sick, unless they’re fully vaccinated and asymptomatic.

Schools should also improve circulation in a classroom, such as opening windows, setting up fans or having class outdoors, she said.

The move comes after new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines were released late last week, which the new state guidelines mimic almost exactly.

That guidance comes as welcome news to those in New Jersey who favor in-person learning, since the logistics of 3 feet of distancing should allow for more students in each room. It could also signal a larger shift toward five days of in-person learning across the state, a move some districts are already planning for.

“Now is the time for all of our schools to meaningfully move forward with a return to in-person instruction, whether it be full-time or through a hybrid schedule,” said Murphy.

What schools have currently implemented remains a mixed bag. According to state data shared Wednesday:

• 143 districts are open for all in-person instruction
• 534 are open for hybrid instruction
• 90 have instituted all-remote learning
• 44 have a combination of learning models

Some elements of shifted classroom protocol will remain, however, even though more school employees are being vaccinated.

“As more and more of our educators receive their vaccinations, we must ensure that they continue to wear face masks and take other preventative measures even once their vaccination schedule is complete,” said Murphy.

What also hasn't changed is that the CDC continues to recommend at least 6 feet distance between adults in schools and between adults and students as well as in common areas, when eating or participating in in-door activities outside the classroom. Read more: New NJ School Guidelines Amid COVID Expected

The Murphy administration has been in lockstep with the CDC to this point, so the application of these new guidelines comes as little surprise.

Last week, when the CDC issues new guidelines for vaccinated people, Murphy was the first to say New Jersey would be following them.

"We've been pretty much adherent to the CDC guidance from Day 1," Murphy said. "We're one of the states that has basically in sync with them and I suspect you'll see us in sync here."

With reporting from Russ Crespolini.

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