NJ schools ‘relatively quiet’ on Ebola

New Jersey schools, for the most part, have not yet sounded the alarm on the Ebola scare. That could change, however, if confirmed cases start popping up closer to home.

Dr. Richard Bozza, executive director of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, said Garden State schools are "not having a great deal of discussion" about Ebola because the cases in the United States have been "so few and far away."

"To the best of my knowledge, there hasn't been a whole great deal of outreach at this point," Bozza said. "It's been relatively quiet."

As of late Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed three confirmed Ebola cases in the U.S. The first, a Liberian man who traveled from West Africa to Dallas, passed away on Oct. 8. The subsequent cases involved healthcare workers who had close contact with the index patient.

Bozza suggested New Jersey schools would be wise to begin conversations with their local health officers regarding the virus. Parents would feel better knowing their kids' schools are keeping their guards up.

"School people, outside of the school nurse, are not necessarily trained in those areas, and that's why the local health official is a great resource," Bozza said.

New Jersey's education and health departments would not respond to a request for comment.

In Maple Shade, students who recently moved from the eastern portion of Africa were kept from going to school as a precaution. Their parents kept them home beyond the "21 day waiting period," and the children should be back in class next week. The students were described as "symptom-free" and "not from an affected area."