School & Illness Guidelines For Families
The protocol for management of communicable disease in Worthington City Schools is based upon the Ohio Department of Health’s guidelines and recommendations. If your child has symptoms for COVID-19, follow the following protocol for the 2024-2025 school year:
During the 2024 - 2025 school year, Health Services continues to evaluate our COVID-19 health clinic protocols, which reflect current public health guidance, and are summarized below:
- Symptomatic students will be evaluated by the school nurse and will be sent home based on the severity of their symptoms and/or the presence of a fever.
- Students sick enough to be sent home by the nurse or school administrator should be picked up by a parent/guardian. No school transportation will be provided.
- Students may return to school when they have been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication, and their symptoms have improved.
- Verified negative COVID-19 test results are NOT required for a student to return to school.
- School staff will continue to stress to families the importance of keeping a student home if they are ill.
- If a student or member of staff tests positive for COVID-19 they should consult with their medical provider for guidance. Families and staff should use good judgment when determining when to return to school or work after any illness, consistent with the current sick policy. Nurses will not determine or monitor return to school/work dates.
- Masks are optional for staff, students, community partners, and visitors during the school day and at school-sponsored functions.
Your child is too ill to go to school if he or she has any of the following symptoms:
- Temperature above 100.4 F by mouth (see below)
- Vomiting or diarrhea within the past 24 hours (see below)
- Shortness of breath or has increase in wheezing during normal activity
- Has a cough that interrupts normal activity Pain from an earache, headache, sore throat or recent injury.
- Has yellow or green drainage from nose or eye(s)
- Rash over body or localized to one area of the body (see below)
- Fatigue and needs bed rest (common with flu-like symptoms)
- Signs of conjunctivitis such as red, crusty or swollen eyes (see below)
Students who are sent home with a fever 100.4 degrees or higher must remain at home until the student is fever free for 24 hours without the use of medication. In most cases this means that students will miss the following school day. Please understand that fevers can reoccur within a 24 hour time period and this policy is in the best interest for all students.
Students who are sent home due to vomiting or diarrhea must also stay home for 24 hours to ensure that these symptoms are gone before returning to school.
Students exhibiting signs of conjunctivitis (crusty eyes, red or swollen eyes) may return once the symptoms have been treated and are gone or a note is presented from a doctor stating that the student may return to school.
Students who show signs of a communicable disease exhibiting as a rash may return to school once the rash is gone or a note is presented from a doctor stating that the student may return to school.
Remember
Attendance is a must for your child to be successful in school. If your child’s absence requires a doctor’s visit, please turn in the medical excuse to your child’s school upon returning.
Cold vs. Flu
The only way to stop the spread of the blue is to spread the awareness.
| Symptom | Cold | H1N1 Flu |
| Fever | Fever is rare with a cold | Fever is usually present with the flu in up to 80% of all flu cases. A temperature of 100.4°F or higher for 3 to 4 days is associated with the flu |
| Coughing | A hacking, productive (mucus- producing) cough is often present with a cold. | A non-productive (non-mucus producing) cough is usually present with the flu (sometimes referred to as dry cough). |
| Aches | Slight body aches and pains can be part of a cold. | Severe aches and pains are common with the flu. |
| Stuffy Nose | Stuffy nose is commonly present with a cold and typically resolves spontaneously within a week. | Stuffy nose is not commonly present with the flu. |
| Chills | Chills are uncommon with a cold. | 60% of people who have the flu experience chills. |
| Tiredness | Tiredness is fairly mild with a cold. | Tiredness is moderate to severe with the flu. |
| Sneezing | Sneezing is commonly present with a cold. | Sneezing is not common with the flu. |
| Sudden Symptoms | Cold symptoms tend to develop over a few days. | The flu has a rapid onset within 3-6 hours. The flu hits hard and includes sudden symptoms like high fever, aches and pains. |
| Headache | A headache is fairly uncommon with a cold. | A headache is very common with the flu, present in 80% of flu cases. |
| Sore Throat | Sore throat is commonly present with a cold. | Sore throat is not commonly present with the flu. |
| Chest Discomfort | Chest discomfort is mild to moderate with a cold. |
Chest discomfort is often severe with the flu.
|
Communicable Disease in the School Setting
Chicken pox: skin rash that progresses to blisters, then scabs. The child may or may not have a fever. New eruptions may occur for 4-5 days. Children
usually start to feel better once they stop getting new bumps Children are excluded from school until all the sores are crusted over, usually
6-7 days.
Common cold: sore throat, watery discharge from nose an eyes, sneezing, fever, and generalized discomfort. Children are excluded from school if fever of over 100.4 F or feeling too ill to participate in school activities.
Conjunctivitis (Bacterial pink eye): redness of eye or eyelid, thick and purulent (pus) discharge, matted eyelashes, burning, itching and eye pain.
Children are excluded until 24 hours of antibiotic treatment.
Diarrhea: several loose stools with increased water content in a 24 hour period. Children are excluded until 24 hours after diarrhea stops or is determined non-communicable by physician.
Fifth Disease: bright red rash usually beginning on face appears as a “slapped face”. Spreads to trunk and extremities and appears as a lacy rash.
Generally clears in a week. Children are excluded only if they have a fever or feel ill, otherwise exclusion is not necessary.
Influenza: abrupt onset of fever, chills, headache, sore muscles, runny nose, sore throat and cough. Children are excluded if they have a fever over 100.4 F or feel ill.
Ringworm: flat, scaly, ring like rash, may itch or burn. Children are excluded until 24 hours of appropriate treatment completed.
Scarlet fever/Strep Throat: fever, red throat with pus spots. May have tender and swollen lymph nodes. Scarlet fever- all of the previous with
sandpaper like rash on skin. Children are excluded until 12 hours of antibiotic treatment is completed.
Whooping Cough (pertussis): Begins with mild upper respiratory symptoms which progress to abnormally severe coughing often with a characteristic whoop. Whooping sounds may be absent in older children and adults. Coughing may progress to vomiting. Children are excluded for 5 days as they complete antibiotic treatment.
Impetigo: highly contagious skin infection with red sores that rupture, ooze and form a yellowish-brown crust. Children are excluded until 24 hours of antibiotic treatment or all sores are dry.
Scabies: parasitic skin infection caused by a mite that tunnels under the skin causing a pimple-like extremely itchy rash which tends to be worse at night. Children are excluded until they have received 24 hours of prescribed treatment.
Pneumonia: an upper respiratory tract infection with fever, cough, malaise and headache. Children are excluded until they have received 24 hours of antibiotic treatment and they are fever-free without the use of fever reducing medication.
Measles: starts with a high fever, dry cough, sore throat, runny nose and red watery eyes followed by tiny white spots inside the mouth and a rash that may become joined together as it spreads from the head to the rest fo the body. Measles can be prevented by a vaccine. Children are excluded for 4 days following the onset of the rash.
RESOURCES
Columbus Health Department: http://publichealth.columbus.gov
Franklin County Health Department: http://www.myfcph.org/
Centers for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov
American Academy of Pediatrics: http://www.aap.org