Exclusion Criteria Letter

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To:               Parents/Guardians
From:           D41 Registered Nurses/Health Services

In order to plan for in person learning, we want to convey the exclusion criteria D41 will be following for students who might be home ill or who may develop symptoms while at school. These criteria are in line with the guidelines from the Illinois Department of Public Health. In order to keep schools open for in person learning, it is critical that students stay home if they don’t feel well or are experiencing ANY COVID-19 symptoms.

Students will be sent home or denied entry to school if they have any one of the following symptoms (Source: IDPH):
-Fever greater than 100.4 F
-New onset of moderate to severe headache
-Shortness of breath
-New cough
-Sore throat
-Vomiting
-Diarrhea
-Abdominal pain from unknown cause
-New congestion/runny nose
-New loss of taste or smell
-Nausea
-Fatigue from unknown cause
-Muscle/body aches

Frequently Asked Questions: (source: IDPH)

My child is home sick or was sent home sick.  When can they return to school? 
Answer:  Any student sent home with COVID-like symptoms should be diagnostically tested and should remain home until they receive the test results.  If confirmed positive, the individual must complete 10 calendar days of isolation from the date of symptom onset, be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication AND have an improvement in symptoms. 
If a student is sent home sick with suspected COVID-19, must all their siblings be sent home as well? 
Answer: Yes. If one of the household members has one or more symptoms of COVID-19, siblings and/or members of the same household must also stay home until an alternative diagnosis on the sick student or a negative COVID-19 test can be produced.
My child is sick with something other than COVID-19. When can they return to school? 
Answer: They must meet the criteria for returning to school for the illness with which they have been diagnosed.  At a minimum, be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication and have no diarrhea or vomiting in the previous 24 hours.  A health care provider’s note documenting the alternative diagnosis or a negative COVID-19 test result should accompany the student. 
Is there a difference between isolation and quarantine? I'm hearing 10 days on the one hand but 14 days on the other hand. Which is it? 
Answer: Both. Isolation is for someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 since they are considered contagious until they meet the requirements to come out of isolation. The isolation period is for 10 days from the onset of symptoms, AND fever free for 24 hours AND an improvement in symptoms.  Quarantine is for anyone who was exposed (close contact) to a person with COVID-19 and is 14 days from the last day of contact.  This is because the incubation period for the illness is typically 2-14 days from contact.  During quarantine, the person is staying home and monitoring for symptoms.
If during my child’s 14 day quarantine, they develop symptoms, when can they return to school? 
Answer:  They would enter into isolation the day they develop symptoms. They could return to school 10 days after the onset of symptoms as long as they’ve been fever free for 24 hours AND have an improvement in symptoms.
My child has seasonal allergies with runny nose, congestion and sometimes a cough.  Are you going to send them home because it resembles COVID-19 symptoms?
Answer: Any NEW onset of symptoms would be questioned as possible COVID-19.  If your child has a known diagnosis other than COVID-19, providing the school nurse with a current doctor's note indicating the alternative diagnosis is required to return to school.
Will I be notified if there is a positive case of COVID-19 in my child’s school?
Answer: Yes, you will receive communication from D41 via email once we have learned of a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the building.  You will be contacted individually if your child has been in close contact with a confirmed case.  Close contact is considered being within 6 feet of an individual for more than 15 minutes.

Your health care team is working with the local health department in tracking cases of COVID-19 in the community. In order to help us, please notify us of any positive cases in your household.  Additionally, when calling your child in sick to school, please specify their symptoms and reason for absence.

Your district registered nurses are here to answer any questions you may have.  We thank you in working with us to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

D41 Health Services Team