Guidance for Screening in Schools and/or Child Care – Effective Monday March 1, 2021

The Grey Bruce Health Unit is working collaboratively with schools and health care professionals to keep students and school staff safe.

In response to new COVID-19 Variants of Concern in Ontario, the Provincial Government has updated screening and exclusion criteria for workplaces, schools and childcare centres.

Based on the local context and risk assessment in Grey Bruce, The Grey Bruce Health Unit is adopting the provincial direction with the following two modifications for (24 hour monitoring period, and Isolation VS. Self Monitoring) as follows:

The Grey Bruce Health Unit continues to recommend utilizing a 24 hour monitoring period of a new symptom before determining the need for testing or isolation. Siblings or other household members can attend work, school or childcare settings and are not required to isolate while the 24 hour monitoring phase takes place. 

If a symptom resolves within 24hrs: the child is free to return to school or childcare.

If the symptom persists beyond 24 hours, the Grey Bruce Health Unit is recommending testing the child. Parents should keep the child as well as any siblings up to Grade 4 at home while awaiting for the test result or receives an alternative diagnosis from a health care professional. Other household members may continue to go to work/school as long as they don’t have any of the covid-19 symptoms and are self-monitoring for them.