Yesterday, the Ontario government released the NEW Ontario COVID-19 Screening Tool for Children in School.
The Ministry of Health has updated the symptoms list and language on school screening. For students, the tool will now have two sets of questions about symptoms that may yield different next steps depending on which symptoms are selected:
- The first set of questions asks about symptoms, such as fever or persistent cough. Students with any of these symptoms will still be advised to stay home until they are able to consult with a medical 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 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 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 medical provider and receive an alternative diagnosis OR a negative COVID-19 test.
In addition, the symptom list no longer includes abdominal pain or pink eye.
Parents/guardians must screen their child for symptoms every day before they come to school. Please disregard the School Attendance: A Resource for Families two page handout TLDSB schools sent home last week, and moving forward, use the Ontario government’s COVID-19 Screening Tool for Children in School for daily screening.
If you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s school.
All return to school and COVID-19 pandemic information can be found on the board’s website at tldsb.ca.
