We, the parents and guardians from communities in Bergen County, New Jersey, call on the Bergen County Department of Health Services (BCDOH) to reevaluate their close contact guidelines related to Covid-19 in order to avoid frequent, unnecessary school closures that harm our children and disrupt the lives of our families. 

We ask that the BCDOH guidelines are in line with the recommendation made by the CDC and the New Jersey Department of Health. Close contact is defined by CDC as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes within a 24-hour period starting from 2 days before illness onset. 

Towns in Bergen County that do not fall under the jurisdiction of BCDOH have been able to keep their schools open by following these federal and state guidelines and by quarantining only a few students and teachers with each confirmed Covid-19 case in their schools. At the same time, local health departments of 36 towns in Bergen County are not autonomous and are bound by BCDOH rules that go far beyond the CDC and NJDOH guidelines, resulting in school closures in these districts. 

Just in one town, Rutherford, almost one thousand students and teachers have been quarantined since September, none of whom tested positive during the time of their quarantine. Despite desperately trying to stay open and provide in-person instruction, our schools are constantly forced to close because of the overly restrictive BCDOH rules. This is arbitrary, damaging, and unacceptable. Regardless of where they live in Bergen County, all children should have the same opportunity to attend school in person. 

Children and teens thrive in real classroom settings and suffer from lack of structure that only a school can offer. It’s been well researched and documented that frequently switching from in-person instruction to remote learning has a significant, negative impact on students’ social development, emotional and behavioral health, and academic achievement. There is an enormous mental health cost to children who stay isolated home for weeks, with just short periods of in-person instruction.

It is also crucial to account for the needs of children and teens to take part in sports and other extracurricular activities, which they cannot participate in when quarantined. Many families have opted for a fully remote schedule for their children because they run a high risk of being barred from activities outside school. It’s shameful that families are forced to make such tradeoffs. 

School closures harm our children without offering any actual epidemiological benefit to our community. Data from schools locally, regionally, nationally, and globally has shown that schools are not a significant source of spread, and do not worsen the Covid-19 pandemic.  

We are a voice for our tax dollars and we want our children back in school, in person, now. 

Restating our demand once again, we ask that the BCDOH modify their close contact guidelines by using evidence-based recommendations in line with the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the New Jersey Department of Health, in order to limit unnecessary school closures in our communities.