TDSB Trustee Anu Sriskandarajah
Revised health screening guidelines
The Ministry of Education announced that it has updated its COVID-19 school and child care screening guidance. The TDSB takes its lead from Toronto Public Health, which has also revised its guidance based on the provincial direction.
According to the revised guidelines, students and children with symptoms such as fever and cough will still be advised to stay home until they are able to consult with a health-care provider and receive an alternate diagnosis or a negative COVID-19 test. A second set of questions now deals with symptoms that are commonly associated with other illnesses, such as runny nose or headache, and provides the following directions:
- 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). The TDSB Daily Health Screening App has also been updated to reflect these changes.
COVID-19 Advisories
The Toronto District School Board is committed to providing up-to-date information about confirmed cases of COVID-19 in schools (students and staff). This information is easily accessible by clicking on the COVID-19 Advisories banner on the main web page of www.tdsb.on.ca.
Please note that all schools where there is a confirmed case of COVID-19 with someone who was contagious while at school will receive a letter from Toronto Public Health to inform them about the possible exposure.