Stricter COVID-19 screening in effect for Toronto, Peel students

Stricter guidelines when it comes to COVID-19 screening for young students in Toronto and Peel Region went into effect on Monday.

Toronto and Peel’s Public Health units updated their screening tools, laying out increasingly strict protocols for when parents need to keep their children home from school.

On Friday, TPH sent out a release stating that “if a student has even one COVID-19 symptom, they must stay home, self-isolate and get tested.”

Both public health units are also recommending that if they live with siblings in the same household, they must all self-isolate.

“This will catch COVID-19 infections even sooner and help keep schools and child care open for all children,” Peel Region’s medical officer of health, Dr. Lawrence Loh, said.

Previously, TPH and Ontario medical officials said children with any one symptom could stay home for at least 24 hours and return to school once they felt better or symptoms improved.

“Recent outbreaks and asymptomatic testing shows that we need to do more to stop the spread of COVID in our schools,” city councillor Joe Cressy said.

“That’s why Toronto Public Health in partnership with our local school boards, has enhanced the School Screening Tool for parents and families.”

TPH says even mild symptoms, such as runny noses or headaches in kids, will require a COVID-19 test.

“Part of this monitoring has included the new COVID-19 testing pilot of asymptomatic individuals in schools,” TPH said in a release.

“Taken together, this has confirmed that the enhancements made to the school screening tool will support the earlier identification of COVID-19 cases in school.”

The updated guidelines are as follows: if a child has one or more new, or worsening COVID-19 symptoms, parents will now be required to:

• Keep their child home.
• Keep siblings and other children home, even if they do not have symptoms.
• Arrange for the child to get tested or contact their healthcare provider.
• Without testing, the child must stay at home for 10 days.
• Monitor the family for symptoms. Adults must stay home if they have one or more symptoms.

This comes after Toronto’s medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, issued a letter of recommendation to close an East York school following a significant COVID-19 outbreak at Thorncliffe Park Public School.

On Sunday it was announced that a next door early learning school, Fraser Mustard Early Learning Academy, would also be shutting down due to potential exposure.