Folks, the science doesn’t make sense. According to a new COVID-19 guidance sheet dropped by the New Jersey Department of Health on New Year’s Eve, the Phil Murphy administration is calling for a ban of unvaccinated school children from extracurricular activities.
You can read the full Department of Health guidance document here.
The New Jersey Department of Health is citing ‘very high’ levels of COVID-19 transmission and in response is recommended that unvaccinated children be barred from participating in extracurricular activities with fellow students, even after spending the entire day with those other students.
At this point, no evidence suggests that the COVID-19 vaccinations or boosters are stopping the spread of the new omicron variant of the virus. Vaccinated, boosted and unvaccinated alike are now becoming infected and spreading the latest variant of the virus.
The decision was among the first made by the Murphy administration since the governor returned from his Central American family vacation on Thursday.
Below are the latest guidelines for schools in New Jersey that will ban unvaccinated students from extracurricular activities and require students to be tested for COVID-19:
NJDOH recommends that in addition to following current NJDOH guidance, K-12 schools located in regions with very high COVID-19 CALI activity levels (bolded recommendations are new) should:
- Continue to adhere to mask mandates as outlined in EO 251.
- Conduct routine COVID-19 screening testing of all unvaccinated students and staff according to Public Health Recommendations for Implementing COVID-19 Screening Testing in K-12 Schools.
- Continue to promote layered prevention strategies such as physical distancing, screening testing, handwashing, cleaning, improved ventilation, staying home when sick, etc.
- Limit participation in extracurricular activities to those students and staff with up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination per Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations1.
- Conduct COVID-19 screening testing of students and staff, regardless of vaccination status, twice weekly for participation in all extracurricular activities.