School nurse: Parents, staff doing ‘super job’ monitoring Covid

Vernon. Nursing Coordinator Cathy Toth told the Vernon Township school board that parents are doing a “super job” monitoring their children and keeping them home when they’re not feeling well. She also thanked faculty and staff for bringing potential problems to her for follow-up. Toth and the district’s COVID-19 coordinator, Kim Muller, outlined the district’s protocol: As students get off the bus, their temperatures are taken, and anyone suspected of being ill is separated. District officials then determine close contacts (6 feet apart for more than 15 minutes) students may have had with a positive case, or if they’ve traveled to areas with high infection rates. Any student who answers yes is sent home and referred to their primary care physician for treatment or evaluation. The student, or staff member, is monitored until they are picked up by a family member. A doctor’s note is required for them to come back to school. Their Covid test results are provided to the school, which then informs the Sussex County health department. Follow-up phone calls are made to quarantined students; when they are ready to return, they are interviewed on Zoom. Muller said a lag in testing, which could take more than 48 hours, explains why so many positive results are reported on weekends.