COVID Data in Schools: Dr. Stephanie Silvera Responds

COVID-19 cases in both K-12 and higher education institutions in New Jersey have been trending upward since the second week of November, according to state data. This rise began after declines from case peaks from early in the academic year. Cases at colleges in universities peaked in mid-September. For K-12 schools, cases peaked in October.

Dr. Stephanie Silvera, Professor in the Public Health department, noted that “there was a fairly dramatic increase in the number of cases.”

However, while more information about pandemic trends is now being shared on the state’s dashboard, it does not include every school or college.

Dr. Silvera said the state wants “as close to 100%” in terms of data collection and reporting to know if health measures are effective – one place where collecting all of the data can be helpful is when monitoring K-12 schools.

“We’re talking about populations that are either only just recently eligible for vaccination or not yet eligible to be vaccinated,” she said. “Understanding those case rates so that decisions that are going to be upcoming about mask-wearing, for example, can be made in an environment of really understanding deeply what the situation truly is.”

“I think it guides us in a direction of what’s been going on and what we can expect to continue,” Dr. Silvera added.