Sometimes it can be hard to know how sick a child needs to be before they should stay home for the day. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed some of the thinking around this. School communities have been asked to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 by making sure that unwell students remain at home.

Keep students home

when they are displaying any of these COVID-19 symptoms:

fever
chills or sweats
cough
sore throat
shortness of breath
stuffy or runny nose
nausea
headache
loss or change in sense of smell or taste.

Some people may experience one or more of these symptoms due to hayfever or some other non-contagious condition. In these circumstances, it may not be necessary for your child to stay home from school. Please consult your doctor for confirmation of this.

You should also keep your child at home if they

are throwing up or have diarrhea - they should stay at home until they haven't thrown up or had diarrhea for at least 24 hours;
have eyes that are pink and crusty.

Be sure to notify the school if:

Your child needs to stay home for the day
There is a case of chickenpox, meningococcal or tuberculosis infection within your household. This is particularly important so that children in our school community who are more vulnerable to infection can be protected.

Please consider others and be sure to stick to the guidelines above. It may be inconvenient to have a child stay home for the day but please think of others and help protect the health of all students and staff. For some, catching someone else's bug might just be a small inconvenience. For others, it might seriously put their health at risk.

Senior Interschool Cross Country

Written by Mr Kevin Jackson