COVID-19 is a threat to the health of the Saddle River Day School student body and faculty members. With the newly identified positive cases in New Jersey (6 cases as of March 8, 4 of which are located in Bergen County) and New York across the Hudson River (105 cases as of March 8) , the well-being of Saddle River Day School is threatened. If the campus hesitates and does not shut down immediately, COVID-19 will spread throughout the campus before it can be stopped, thereby endangering the lives of all young students and faculty members.
An infected individual may take up to 14 days to show symptoms of COVID-19, therefore the newly identified cases may have already started spreading in the community. Saddle River Day School needs to close the campus and use online teaching tools to protect the students and faculty members. An example of the exponential increase of COVID 19 cases can be found in Italy, where the amount of people infected rose sharply from ~20 cases to 7375 in about three weeks.

There is a severe lack of mass testing for COVID-19 in both New York and NJ. There have been confirmed cases in Bergen county, where Saddle River Day School is located. Also, there are many students who have personal and family association with the Hackensack Hospital, which recently became a source of COVID-19.

The recent Spring Break has resulted in families traveling to places that have COVID-19. This is a threat because the virus is airborne and no physical contact is necessary to spread the virus. 

I believe school systems should consider shutting down for two weeks after Spring Break season, or longer. This would not only protect public health, but relieve the paranoia of people. Health experts and medical companies estimate one year or more for the viruses vaccination to come abroad. We must take precautions where they’re needed. We the people, want our health, and community to be protected at all costs. All schools and public events/business should not hesitate to shut down if a virus is spreading. The virus may mainly be a threat to the young and elderly, but students can bring it home too.