The province is asking parents to play an important role in the safe return to the classroom, and part of that includes screening children for symptoms every day before school.
Provincial officials have outlined a daily screening protocol, which includes:
- Screening for symptoms every morning (see full list of symptoms)
- Keeping your child at home if they are showing any COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms
- Staying home and isolating if showing symptoms
- Using the online Self-Assessment tool to check if your child should be tested for COVID-19
Symptoms of COVID-19 include, but are not limited to cough, headache, fever/chills, muscle aches, and sore throat.
Click here for the symptom screening checklist.
What happens when there’s a positive case in a Manitoba school?
In the event a child develops symptoms at school, they will be isolated, and parents/caregivers will be called and asked to pick their child up promptly.
Public health officials say in the event of a confirmed case in a school, they will notify the general public, after first notifying all potential close contacts.
Dr. Brent Roussin explains public health would conduct an investigation to determine who are considered close contacts of the positive case, advising them to self-isolate and await further direction from the health authority.
“To the school community at large and to the public, we’ll be announcing where cases are. So Public Health won’t be personally advising all parents in a school, just those who are close contacts — but we will be making it when we have a case in a school,” said Roussin.
The province has included some advice for children on how to be COVID careful in school:
- Do not share food or personal items
- Cough and sneeze into your arm or tissue
- Do not touch your face, particularly your eyes, nose and mouth
- Keep two metres of distance from others and avoid close contact.
- Stay healthy by eating healthy foods, keeping physically active, getting enough sleep and fresh air
