The school year is underway for many students in Michigan, while other students head back to school this sometime this month.
At the same time, the big question for parents, students, teachers, and staff is how to cope with the novel coronavirus outbreak.
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Experts say that teaching a child proper hygiene at home can be one of the basic things to keep them safe while at school. Many schools have different policies on what to do when a child comes in contact with the virus or becomes sick. Parents should know these policies before sending their kids back to the classroom, experts say.
Here are safety tips from Dr. Alison Tribble, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Michigan Medicine C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, and Dr. Scott Grant, general pediatrician at the Detroit Medical Center.
How can I ensure safety from COVID-19 for my child when they’re at school?
Tribble: “As much as possible, children should be wearing masks, just like adults, even when they’re in school. At the same time, still maintaining distance from other people that aren’t in your household as much as you can. Doing both of those together is more protection than just one by itself.
“Frequent hand hygiene is also really important –teaching kids to properly wash their hands and use hand sanitizer. Especially before and after they eat, after they touch their face, or use a tissue.”
My child just tested positive for COVID-19 after returning to school. What should I do now?
Grant: “The first thing that I would think about is the importance of keeping a close eye on your kid to see if they develop any symptoms from COVID-19, depending on the circumstances under which they were tested. They may still be asymptomatic.
“If they were having symptoms, you’d want to keep an eye out for common symptoms which could look a lot like upper respiratory infections. Things like coughs, runny nose, sneezing, and fever. If any of these symptoms are getting worse, causing them to have problems with difficulty breathing or (if) the fever is lasting for several days, you probably would want to get in touch with either your primary pediatrician, family doctor or go to a local emergency department to get further evaluated.”
If someone tests positive at my child’s school, should my child get tested?
Tribble: “It depends on the timing of when you find out. If you find out two weeks after your child could have been exposed, and they’ve been fine, well they’re fine. When I say exposed, we’re talking about were you a close contact, someone that’s been within the sick patient for more than 15 minutes. Just being in the same school building is not considered an exposure.
“If you are notified by your school or the health department that you are considered a close contact of that student, then I would take the advice of the health department whether they want you to get tested.”
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My child just got sick at school and I have been told to pick them up. Now what?
Tribble: “If you have a fever, a bad cough, sore throat – those things could all be consistent with COVID-19 and your child should probably be tested. They definitely should stay out of school.
“It gets a little tricky when it’s something like a runny nose. Schools may differ in their return to school policies for more mild symptoms. At the same time, there are other viruses going around, so it may not be feasible to have every child tested who has a very mild symptom. Certainly have that discussion with the school.”
With the flu season approaching, it will get tricky to differentiate the two. What should I do in this situation?
Grant: “If you’re concerned about the type of symptoms that your child is having, if they’re having significant difficulty with their breathing or they’re having fevers, it’s always good to get in touch with your health care provider. A lot of places have or will have rapid flu testing available once we start getting into flu season. That is a much simpler test and is a lot quicker than the COVID-19 test.
“There is a lot of overlap between symptoms of the flu and symptoms of COVID-19 in addition to a lot of other respiratory viruses that are out there. It would get really difficult to confidently say, just based on symptoms, that this is definitely COVID-19 or this is definitely the flu. The best way to know for sure will be to get a test done.”
Chanel Stitt is a Business Reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Become a subscriber.