B.C.’s provincial health officer said that while it can be hard to distinguish a COVID-19 infection in children from another virus, parents should err on the side of caution and keep their children home.
“You know your kids,” Dr. Bonnie Henry said at a press conference Tuesday (Jan. 11), the first pandemic update since all kids returned to school the day before. Students returned to classrooms that will look much like they did before children left in December, with masks and daily health checks required but not cohorts. Staff and student assemblies and meetings will be held virtually due to the more infectious Omicron variant spreading rapidly in B.C. Parents will not be notified for every case, however. Instead, families will only be told if COVID-19 infections lead to a significant drop in attendance or a functional school or classroom closure.
However, parents need a “low threshold” for keeping their children home, Henry added, noting that parents should consider their kids exposure risks and what else is happening in their social circles.
A runny nose can be a sign of many things, she said, but that children with any sort of fever must stay home.
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