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New Guidelines for COVID-19 Schools and Child Care Testing
Thursday, October 1, 2020
The Ontario Government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer Health, released a revised guideline today for school and child care testing.
The updated guideline redefined the criteria for children’s symptoms that require testing or isolation. If you're a parent, this new guide should help you better determine if:
- your child should attend school or child care
- they need to consult a health care provider
- they should get tested for COVID-19
- they are experiencing typical health patterns not related to COVID
Parents are asked to check the latest COVID-19 Screening Tool for Children in School and Child Care to determine if their kids need to be screened.
The first set of questions asks about symptoms like fever or cough. Students and children with any of these symptoms will still be advised to stay home until they are able to consult with a health care provider and receive an alternative diagnosis or a negative COVID-19 test.
The second set of questions asks about other symptoms that are commonly associated with other illnesses, such as a runny nose, sore throat or headache:
- Students and children with only one of these symptoms will be advised to stay home for 24 hours, after which they can return to school or child care if their symptoms are improving.
- Students and children with two or more of these symptoms will be advised to stay home until they are able to consult with a health care provider and receive an alternative diagnosis or a negative COVID-19 test.
In addition, based on the latest public health guidance the symptom list for children in school and child care no longer includes abdominal pain or conjunctivitis (pink eye).
Download the COVID-19 Screening Tool for Children in School and Child Care today to do a home assessment pre-screening for your child.