Safe Reopen Hackensack

01/29/2021

Hackensack remains open despite the CDC classifying Bergen County as being in the red zone, even as the Board of Education claims schools are safe. It is an unsafe gamble with the health and lives of our students and staff.

Twelve NJ counties are now in the "red" zone for COVID-19 outbreak severity, the White House Task Force said in its most recent report.

01/24/2021

Hackensack Public Schools reopen tomorrow, as Bergen County remains in the red and district after district moves to full remote for the safety of their students and staff. Hackensack students and staff, please stay safe, take precautions, and protect your health. Our thoughts are with you in this difficult time.

The coronavirus continues to take a grim toll on Bergen County, according to updated state data. See how your town is doing below.

01/22/2021

Just because children have less severe responses to COVID doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences for infection.

CHOP researchers found the elevated biomarker in all children who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, whether they were symptomatic for COVID-19 or not.

01/21/2021

Much of this data predates the new, more infectious variant, which means we will see rapid growth of these numbers. Reopening schools at this moment threatens the safety of Hackensack’s students and staff, as well as their families and our community.

The latest report from New Jersey health officials includes 10 additional districts with in-school outbreaks of the coronavirus that have led to 40 new cases.

01/17/2021

Reopening during a viral surge doesn’t only endanger students and staff in Hackensack, but strains our hospitals and first responders. We will contribute to more suffering on our current course.

Modeling shows 4,500 to 6,000 daily hospitalizations by February, and the state would face a shortage of hospital staff.

01/17/2021

Reopening advocates downplay the threat of COVID to students and staff, but the realities of constant shut downs, abrupt shifts to full remote learning, and students and staff forced into quarantine provide constant reminders that the course of action they propose is dangerous.

As U.S. authorities debate whether to keep schools open, a consensus is emerging in Europe that children are a considerable factor in the spread of Covid-19—and more countries are shutting schools for the first time since spring.

01/16/2021

The spikes are already here. Neighboring districts are going remote. Infection rates are increasing rapidly. Our current course endangers the health and safety of Hackensack Public Schools students and staff.

The more contagious version, first identified in Britain, is expected to spread widely and lead to further strains on an already overburdened health care system.

01/16/2021

Wayne is another district mentioned as a comparable in justifying Hackensack’s reopening plan, and they have been forced remote for a full month by continued, uncontrolled spread of COVID-19. It is important to notice trends, too: nearly 1/3 of positive cases among students and staff occurred in the last month, despite being off for nearly half of it due to holiday break.

Wayne reported 3,945 positive cases of COVID-19, attributing 198 deaths to the disease, since March of last year.

01/15/2021

An update on what is happening in Fair Lawn, cited by our board of education in support of their decision to reopen schools during this period of heightened transmission. Fair Lawn’s mayor, in coordination with the town’s superintendent and board of education, has closed schools despite having significantly fewer confirmed cases than Hackensack, which currently has over 3,000. Many of the neighboring school districts cited this week by the board of education in defending their move have gone full remote and/or experienced confirmed cases requiring partial or total shutdowns of their district schools. This is Hackensack’s unfortunate future unless the board of education reconsiders their current course of action.

01/15/2021

“With a 50 percent rise in infectiousness, for example, ‘in less than two weeks, you get twice the number of cases,’ Lipsitch said. ‘And in a month or so, you have four, five times as many cases. But that’s very approximate.’ The case growth could be even more dramatic.” Districts like Fair Lawn and Garfield have accepted science and reality and moved to full remote learning to protect their students and staff. Why does the Hackensack Board of Education refuse to do so?

Health experts say you should avoid optional trips whenever you can. You probably need a better mask, too.

01/15/2021

Fair Lawn Public Schools, which the Hackensack Board of Education has pointed to in their dangerous decision to remain open, has just made the decision to go fully remote as cases rise. Fair Lawn has a lower case load than Hackensack, yet Hackensack’s board of education continues to insist that we should risk the safety of staff and students by returning to in-person instruction.

01/14/2021

The new, more contagious variant of COVID-19 is almost certainly present in our county. The Hackensack Board of Education is still sending students and staff back in, despite the flashing warning signs that an outbreak is imminent.

More cases of a variant of COVID-19 linked to the United Kingdom and believed far more contagious than the regular strain have been found on Long Island, with a cluster spanning Nassau and Suffolk cou