Symptoms
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
If a child develops new symptoms or catches fever of 100F while in school send the child home immediately.
– Bring the child to the isolation room and call parents for immediate pickup. A staff member must be with the child while in facility. Staff must wear all possible protective equipment and must maintain 6ft. apart.
Once the child gets picked up parents will be instructed to contact their regular doctor or clinic and consider a test for COVID-19
Cleaning Procedure
1. Close off areas used by the person who is sick.
- Facilities do not necessarily need to close operations, if they can close off affected areas.
2. Open outside doors and windows to increase air circulation in the area.
3. Wait 24 hours before you clean or disinfect. If 24 hours is not feasible, wait as long as possible.
4. Clean and disinfect all areas used by the person who is sick, such as offices, bathrooms, common areas, shared equipment or materials.
5. Vacuum the space if needed. Use vacuum equipped with high-efficiency particular air (HEPA) filter, if available.
- Do not vacuum a room or space that has people in it. Wait until the room or space is empty to vacuum, such as at night, for common spaces, or during the day for private rooms.
- Consider temporarily turning off room fans and the central HVAC system that services the room or space, so that particles that escape from vacuuming will not circulate throughout the facility.
6. Once area has been appropriately disinfected, it can be opened for use.
- Workers without close contact with the person who is sick can return to work immediately after disinfection.
7. If more than 7 days since the person who is sick visited or used the facility, additional cleaning and disinfection is not necessary.
- Continue routine cleaning and disinfection. This includes everyday practices that businesses and communities normally use to maintain a healthy environment.
If child is confirmed of COVID-19, contact tracing will be conducted for close contacts (any individual within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 2 days before illness onset or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to positive specimen collection) of patient.
1. Director and Admin Asst. will conduct contact tracing. If they are not available, the Executive Director and Program Director will conduct contact tracing.
2. MSF will contact and submit a list of exposed students and staff to ACPHD of anyone who develops COVID-19 or exposure to it.
3. MSF will communicate any exposure to all parents of children with close contact with the patient in accordance with HIPPA Privacy and Security Rules.
4. Cohort members of the COVID-19 positive student or staff will follow quarantine instructions from last exposure
5. Testing is recommended for all (staff/students) close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 patients
6. Parents must provide result of testing to allow MSF to do necessary steps to protect other children, staff and families on campus.
7. If testing is not available, symptomatic close contacts should self-isolate and be managed as a probable COVID-19 case.
8. If testing is not available, asymptomatic close contacts should self-quarantine and be monitored for 14 days after their last exposure, with linkage to clinical care for those who develop symptoms.
9. Classroom and all areas visited by the patient will be cleaned and disinfected.
Metrics for closing due to COVID-19
1. MSF will monitor for orders from ACDPH to stop in person learning, or alternatively, if we have an outbreak or there is not sufficient demand for in person learning.
2. A class or cohort will be closed if there is strong clinical suspicion that the person undergoing testing has COVID-19. For ex. If person is symptomatic following exposure to confirmed case, or if the symptoms are highly specific for COVID-19 (i.e., loss of taste and smell), the cohort or class should be closed while awaiting test results. This decision will be made in consultation with ACPHD. Members of the cohort will have to self-quarantine until test results are available
3. If 5% of students and teachers in a classroom test positive for the virus, the classroom would be closed, followed by 14 days of quarantine.
4. If a school experienced a 5% positive testing rate of students and teachers, the entire school would have to close, with everyone subject to 14 days of quarantine.
Child or staff may be accepted back following quarantine and medical clearance for COVID-19
- If child or staff is tested and COVID-19 test is positive, one may return after:
- At least 10 days since symptoms first appeared and
- 3 consecutive days of NO fever, without taking medicines to lower a fever and
- Child/staff does not show any respiratory symptoms (cough, shortness of breath) and
- MSF requires proof of medical clearance
- If child or staff is NOT tested but has medical evaluation, one can return before 10 days have passed IF:
- There have been at least 3 consecutive days of NO fever, without taking medicines to lower a fever and
- Symptoms have resolved and
- The medical evaluator provides a letter indicating 1. An alternative diagnosis has been made, 2. Symptoms are NOT due to COVID-19.
Note: Sometimes symptoms are clearly due to another cause, such as strep throat or hand-foot-and-mouth disease. In this case provider may clear a child or staff to return to childcare.
- If child or staff gets tested, and the COVID-19 test is negative, one can return after:
- One is feeling better. The symptoms do not have to be completely resolved and
- There have been at least 3 consecutive days of NO fever, without taking medicines to lower a fever and
- Must show documentation of negative test.
- If child or staff had an exposure to a case, never had symptoms and receive a negative test result they must still remain quarantine for 14 days, because they may develop symptom and/or become infectious to others at any time during the 14 days.
- Fever reducing medication is not ok to administer prior to bringing the child to school
Reopening of a classroom that closed off due to COVID-19
- After at least 14 days of quarantine.
- After thorough cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting of classroom is done
- Follow reopening plan protocols
Resources
Alameda County School Reopening Planshttps://www.acoe.org/schoolguidance
ACPHD daily screening guideline http://acphd.org/media/588945/acphd-guidance-screening-programs-for-child-and-youth.pdf
CDC requirements to reopen: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/reopen-guidance.html
Download the PDF of the MSF Facility Plan
