UPDATE: As of March 12, Gov. Phil Murphy has recommended all gatherings of more than 250 people be canceled — including sporting events, entertainment and parades. Hundreds of smaller events are being called off as well.

Dozens to hundreds of school districts have adjusted their schedules, with many closing entirely to implement remote learning until further notice. On Thursday, Bergen County officials announced that all 75 school districts would switch to remote learning.

Because of the overwhelming volume of closings, this post will no longer be updated after 5 p.m. Thursday, March 12.

HOWEVER: See NJ1015.com/coronavirus for the latest major announcements and other news.

Bookmark NJ1015.com/closings for New Jersey 101.5's ongoing school closing lists, maintained year-round.


As New Jersey's response to several cases of novel coronavirus evolves, several institutions are changing their plans for group gatherings. Those include some special events like St. Patrick's Day parades, and routine gatherings like those for daily business or school activity.

New Jersey 101.5 will keep updating the following list as it's made aware of more cancellations, schedule changes or special arrangements. Email dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com with any updates from your institution or organization.

New Jersey 101.5 also maintains a standing list of school closings at NJ1015.com/closings.

ALSO: On Thursday, March 12 at 7 p.m., New Jersey 101.5 is presenting a live broadcast confronting the worldwide novel coronavirus crisis, and how it affects New Jersey residents. Listen live on New Jersey 101.5 FM, the New Jersey 101.5 app or NJ1015.com. Experts will also be on-hand to chat with visitors to a Facebook Live video simulcast of the program at Facebook.com/nj1015.

This list will be updated frequently.

EVENTS 

• Gov. Phil Murphy recommended on March 12 ALL public gatherings of more than 250 be cancelled. That includes parades, sporting events and many forms of entertainment.

• The state Senate has announced the public will not be allowed at meetings going forward. Committees will not take oral testimony on bills, but instead will le the public submit written testimony electronically.

• The Rabbinical Council of Bergen County will close all of its synagogues and recommended against any social gatherings, NJ.com reports.

• The Montclair Film Festival, which was scheduled for May 1 to 10, will be postponed.

• The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation has closed the museum and canceled public events.

• Newark has ordered non-essential public gatherings be cancelled for the next 30 days. Additionally, the mayor's Sixth Annual State of the City Address, set for Monday, March 16, at New Jersey Performing Arts Center, has been postponed for at least 30 days.

• All Jersey City-sponsored events are cancelled through March 20. All city offices will be appointment-based only, walk-ins will be asked to schedule an appointment
in order to be seen. City venues (restaurants, bars, etc.) that hold more than 25 people are being asked to maintain attendance in case of future need to track exposure.  The city has instituted a 10 p.m. curfew effective immediately for all Jersey City establishments carrying a liquor license.

• Freehold Raceway is stopping operations because a person who was there over the weekend was in contact with someone who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

• As of Wednesday, many area parades had been cancelled — even some that officials said days earlier they planned to still hold. South Amboy's parade, which had been scheduled for Sunday, March 15, was postponed indefinitely. Morristown's, originally scheduled for March 14, has been cancelled but may be rescheduled. Jersey City has canceled its parade, originally set for Sunday. Philadelphia announced late Tuesday it would cancel its own parade after the first presumptive positive result in the city. New York City said late Wednesday it would cancel its parade for the first time in the city's history.

• A panel discussion with New Jersey’s current and past lieutenant governors, Sheila Oliver and Kim Guadagno, has been dropped from the schedule of this weekend’s Asbury Park Women’s Conference “out of an abundance of caution.”

• Seton Hall University's Spring Career Fair will no longer be held on Wednesday, March 18, and instead will move to a virtual platform. It's expected to take place the week of April 13, though plans are still in development.

• The Tuesday event "Should Fossil Fuel Companies Pay for Climate Change Damages in New Jersey?" at Monmouth Unversity been canceled.

• Wednesday’s Drew Forum event featuring Valerie Jarrett has been postponed to fall 2020.

• A State House subcontractors networking event that had been scheduled for March 12 is being postponed.

• Senator Troy Singleton's “Boost with Facebook” event for businesses at Rowan College April 3 has been postponed. No new date is yet announced.

• Rider University has canceled a career fair originally scheduled for March 26.

• The NJ Academy of Science Inaugural Seminar Series originally scheduled for March 21 has been postponed to an as-yet undetermined date.

• The Mercer Green Fest originally scheduled for March 14 at Rider University is canceled.

• Pi Day Princeton will become an online-only event.

• The 2020 Progressive Insurance Saltwater Fishing Expo originally scheduled for March 13 to 15 at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center is canceled.

• A Wellness Expo originally planned for March 14 at Georgian Court University is cancelled.

BUSINESSES

• Starting Wednesday, Hackensack Meridian Health  suspending in-person visitation to its nursing and rehabilitation facilities except in special circumstances, such as end-of-life situations. Hackensack Meridian Health also announced visitor restrictions at its medical centers. Visiting hours are now restricted to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Visitation is limited to two visitors at a time with no visitors under the age of 12 permitted.

• Bayer said Monday it was temporarily closing its campuses in Whippany and Morristown "to implement additional cleaning measures in common areas and as a proactive measure, out of an abundance of caution." Bayer did not say how long its offices would be closed.

COLLEGES

• Princeton University announced March 11 that “all students who are able to must return home and stay home for the rest of the semester.” The school said the more students who leave, the easier it will be to care for those who may become ill and to manage the eventual impact of this virus. For some students who cannot yet return home, Princeton “will work with these students to ensure they can remain on campus with our support."

• New Jersey City University (NJCU) in Jersey City will move to online instruction beginning Monday, March 16. Classes are scheduled to resume in a face-to-face setting on Monday, March 30.

• Camden County College will temporarily move classes to online instruction until further notice. Classes will be suspended at 2pm on Saturday, March 14 for student spring break, which has been extended through March 29. Classes resume remotely on Monday, March 30. Accommodations will be made for students without access to a computer or the internet.

• Hudson County Community College starts spring break a week early, March 16 through March 29. Virtual instruction will be carried out Monday, March 30 through at least April 6; possibly longer depending upon changing circumstances.

• Raritan Valley Community College has extended spring break by one additional week, for a total of March 9 through March 20. At that time, RVCC will make a decision about the status of face-to-face classes at the Branchburg campus. The campus will remain open, to "provide students with whatever services they need, including access to computers, advising, counseling, and tutoring." The RVCC Resource Center and Food Pantry will also be available to students.

• Middlesex County College has canceled classes at the Edison campus and the New Brunswick and Perth Amboy centers between Saturday, March 14 and Tuesday, March 17. From Wednesday, March 18 through Friday, March 27, instruction will take place online. All college offices and services will remain open. All on-campus events between Saturday, March 14 and Friday, March 27 are canceled.

• Mercer County Community College will move instruction on both campuses to remote platforms, effective Monday, March 23.

• Union County College is temporarily moving instruction online. From Monday, March 16 through Sunday, March 22, all course instruction will be delivered remotely. The college will remain open and students will have access to designated computer classrooms on the Cranford, Elizabeth and Plainfield campuses.

• Georgian Court University's Lakewood campus is closed from March 11 through March 15. On Monday, March 16, most classes are moving to online formats.

• Brookdale Community College canceled in-person classes through Sunday, March 15. All facilities at the campus in the Lincroft section of Middletown are closed until Monday, March 16.

• Rowan University extended its own spring break to two weeks, March 16-28, to allow faculty time to convert course material to be delivered remotely beginning March 30, if necessary.

• Monmouth University canceled all classes (face-to-face, hybrid, and online) for the remainder of the week, with spring break beginning as scheduled on Saturday, March 14. Staff will report to work to prepare for the possibility of delivering all courses virtually, starting March 23.

• Kean University will begin remote education for all campuses on March 16, with plans to resume normal instruction March 30. Kean also canceled out-of-state travel for five athletic teams during spring break.

• Rutgers University announced that Thursday, March 12, through the end of spring break on Sunday, March 22, classes are canceled. Beginning Monday, March 23, through at least Friday, April 3, all course instruction will be delivered remotely. Rutgers also canceled road trips for some athletic teams and Rutgers suspended its study abroad program.

• Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences classes with more than 15 participants will be carried out remotely beginning Monday, March 16. The school also said students living in campus residence halls should leave as soon as possible. All events and in-person meetings involving groups larger than 15 participants are canceled through April 15.

• The College of New Jersey will conduct all classes online following spring break, from Monday, March 23 for a period of two weeks. The school also encouraged any students who return to campus to practice social distancing, and will require them to take classes online as well.

• Seton Hall University suspended all in-person classes beginning Wednesday, March 11, through Friday, March 13. Classes resume online beginning Monday, March 16.

• Stockton University has extended spring break by a week, through Tuesday, March 24. All classes will resume online March 25 through April 5.

• Rider University has extended spring break an additional week through March 27. “Rider is also preparing, should we have to cancel in-person classes, to ensure continuity of our classes and operations.” International and other resident students who cannot return home will be able to remain on campus with food, maintenance, Public Safety and other services provided.

• Bergen Community College extended spring break through the week of March 16. The campus remains open and classes are set to resume Monday, March 23. The college is continuing to work on plans in the event it decides to close or make changes beyond March 23.

• At NJIT in Newark, classes will take place virtually until further notice once the school returns from spring break on March 23.

• Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken has moved all classes to on-line instruction through April 5. The Stevens campus remains open at this time. To reduce density on campus and limit potential transmission of COVID-19, some employees have been given permission to work remotely. Some offices are rotating staff on site and remotely to ensure coverage of essential tasks.

• Fairleigh Dickinson University will switch to online-only classes starting Monday, March 16.

GRADE SCHOOLS

Hundreds of school district have announced limited closings to give staff members time to make plans in the event long-term closings will be needed later, or because members of their community may have had contact with confirmed or potential coronavirus patients.

The Diocese of Trenton announced Friday that its 35 Catholic schools and nearly 100 religious education programs would close from March 16 through 27. Provisions were made for students to participate in online learning during the closures.

The Archdiocese of Newark announced Thursday that its schools would close from March 16 to March 20.

Below is a list of long-term closures. The state Department of Education is updating its list daily.

• Several schools have postponed SAT testing, NJ.com reports.

• East Brunswick schools closed and canceled activities from March 12 through 15 after a township resident tested positive on March 11.

• Berkeley Heights schools closed March 10 because the parent of a student had coronavirus, the district said in a letter to parents Monday.

• Roselle Public Schools closed March 10 and 11 because a staff member "has reported making contact with someone who is recently diagnosed with coronavirus," the district said in its own statement. The school said it could close for weeks if test results for that person came back positive.

• Red Bank Regional High School closed March 10 and 11 for a “deep cleaning” since a sibling of a student tested “presumed positive” for the COVID-19 virus after attending a conference out of state. After a teenage girl tested positive for the virus, the district announced its virtual learning plan.

• South Brunswick schools closed March 10 because two students were at a private party with a person from out of state later confirmed to have COVID-19. There will not be any home instruction and the day will not count toward the district's required 180 open days. It then moved to remote learning.

Long-term school closures as of March 13

Organized by county

Hudson County
■ Golden Door Charter School
Dates: 3/16/2020-3/27/2020
Reason: Precautionary cleaning


Hudson County
■ Learning Community Charter
Dates: 3/16/2020-3/27/2020
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Hudson County
■ METS Charter School
Dates: 3/16/2020-3/27-2020
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Hudson County
■ METS Charter School
Dates: 3/16/2020-3/27-2020
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Hudson County
■ Secaucus
Dates: 3/16/2020-3/20/2020
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Morris County
■ Butler
Dates: 3/13 - 3/27/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Morris County
■ Chester
Dates: 3/16 - 4/3/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Morris County
■ East Hanover
Dates: 3/13 - 3/27/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Morris County
■ Florham Park
Dates: 3/13 - 3/27/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Morris County
■ Hanover Township
Dates: 3/13 - 3/27/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Morris County
■ Harding
Dates: 3/16 - 3/27/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Morris County
■ Kinnelon
Dates: 3/16 - 4/10/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Morris County
■ Long Hill
Dates: 3/16 - 4/10/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Morris County
■ Morris Hills
Dates: 3/16 - 3/27/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Morris County
■ Morris School District
Dates: 3/16 - 3/27/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Morris County
■ Rockaway Borough
Dates: 3/16 - 3/27/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Morris County
■ Rockaway Township
Dates: 3/16 - TBD
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Morris County
■ Roxbury
Dates: 3/16 - 3/30/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Morris County
■ Unity Charter School
Dates: 3/16 - 3/20/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Morris County
■ Washington Township
Dates: 3/13 - TBD
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Morris County
■ West Morris Regional
Dates: 3/16 - 4/3/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Somerset County
■ Bedminster
Dates: March 16, 2020-April 13, 2020
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Somerset County
■ Bernards
Dates: March 16, 2020-March 30, 2020
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Somerset County
■ Bound Brook
Dates: March 23, 2020-April 14, 2020
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Somerset County
■ Branchburg
Dates: March 16, 2020-April 14, 2020
Reason: Professional Development/Staff Training
Somerset County
■ Bridgewater-Raritan
Dates: 3/16/20-3/30/20
Reason: Precautionary Cleaning
Somerset County
■ Central Jersey College Prep
Dates: 3/16/20-3/20/20
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Somerset County
■ Franklin
Dates: 3/13/20 & 3/16/20-4/14/20
Reason: Professional Development/Staff Training
Somerset County
■ Green Brook
Dates: 3/16/20-4/13/20
Reason: Precautionary Cleaning
Somerset County
■ Hillsborough
Dates: 3/13/20 & 3/16/20-3/27/20
Reason: Professional Development/Staff Training
Somerset County
■ Manville
Dates: 3/16/20-3/27/20
Reason: Professional Development/Staff Training
Somerset County
■ Montgomery
Dates: 3/13/20-3/30/20
Reason: Professional Development/Staff Training
Somerset County
■ North Plainfield
Dates: 3/16/20-3/30/20
Reason: Precautionary Cleaning
Somerset County
■ Somerset Co VoTech
Dates: 3/18/20- 4/13/20
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Somerset County
■ Somerset Co. ESC
Dates: 3/16-4/14/20
Reason: Precautionary Cleaning
Somerset County
■ Somerset Hills
Dates: 3/16/20-4/10/20
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Somerset County
■ Somerville
Dates: 3/16/20-4/13/20
Reason: Professional Development/Staff Training
Somerset County
■ South Bound Brook
Dates: 3/23/20-4/14/20
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Somerset County
■ Thomas Edison Energy Smart Charter
Dates: 3/16/20-3/27/20
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Somerset County
■ Warren
Dates: 3/16/20-4/10/20
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Somerset County
■ Watchung Borough
Dates: 3/16/20-4/10/20
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Somerset County
■ Watchung Hills
Dates: 3/16/20-4/10/20
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Bergen County
■ Entire county (75 districts)
Dates: 3/16/20-3/27/20
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Hudson County
■ Bayonne
Dates: 3/13/2020 - 3/30/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Hudson County
■ Elysian Charter School
Dates: 3/16/2020-3/27/2020
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Hudson County
■ Guttenberg
Dates: 3/16/2020 - 3/2-/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Hudson County
■ Hoboken
Dates: 3/16/2020-3/27/2020
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Hudson County
■ Hoboken Charter School
Dates: 3/16/2020-3/27/2020
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Hudson County
■ Hoboken Dual Language Charter School
Dates: 3/16/2020-3/27/2020
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Hudson County
■ Jersey City
Dates: 3/16/2020-3/20/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Hudson County
■ Jersey City Community Charter School
Dates: 3/16/2020-3/20/2020
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Hudson County
■ North Bergen
Dates: 3/16/2020-3/20/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Hudson County
■ University Academy Charter School
Dates: 3/13/2020-3/27/2020
Reason: Confirmed exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Hudson County
■ Weehawken
Dates: 3/16/2020-3/20-2020
Reason: Precautionary cleaning
Middlesex County
■ South Brunswick
Dates: 3/11/2020-3/13/2020
Reason: Concern about potential exposure to COVID-19 in school community
Passaic County
■ Pompton Lakes
Dates: 3/12/2020 and 3/16/2020
Reason: Professional Development/Staff Training
Sussex County
■ Andover Regional School District
Dates: 3/13/20 and 3/16/20
Reason: Professional Development/Staff Training
Sussex County
■ Green Township School District
Dates: 3/13/20 & 3/16/20
Reason: Professional Development/Staff Training
Sussex County
■ Lenape Valley Regional High School
Dates: 3/13/20 & 3/16/20
Reason: Professional Development/Staff Training
Union County
■ Union County Ed Services Commission
Dates: 3/10/20 through 3/24/20
Reason: Confirmed exposure to COVID-19 in school community

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