Dear Chimacum Families!
As we’ve probably all experienced, flu and cold season is here! Beyond Covid-19, multiple other illnesses are circulating in our community: Flu, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), pink eye, head lice, “common” colds, and the list could go on… Some of these illnesses can be serious to critical for the very young or very old and per our public health department, our area pediatric hospitals are starting to get overwhelmed. Please help us protect our community and our students by keeping people home who are showing signs of illness. Attached you will find a great resource, “When to Keep Sick Children Home from School” from M. Haley, RN, public health nurse. Also attached you can find: RSV information put out by King County Public Health; RSV poster from the CDC; Flu guide for parents from the CDC; Covid-19 flow chart for schools from Jefferson County Public Health; and an article about 4 symptoms to keep kids home, by Claire McCarthy, MD, Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing.
Just a reminder: Current county guidelines require staff and students with a temperature of 100.4F or higher to stay out of school, test for Covid-19, and remain isolated until they have been without a fever for 24 hours, without any medications and symptoms are significantly improved. If the Covid-19 test is positive, please see that attached flow chart.
The current Covid-19 guidelines are similar to what we would expect our families to follow even in a “non-Covid” year: They require that people with the following symptoms stay home until they are significantly improved (and test for Covid-19 and follow the flow chart):
❑ Fever (≥100.4°F) or chills
❑ Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
❑ Muscle or body aches
❑ New loss of taste or smell
❑ Cough (new, changed, or worsening)
❑ Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
❑ Fatigue
❑ Sore throat
❑ Congestion or runny nose
Please see the flowchart for further information.
Thank you for helping us keep our community healthy!