Illness

The CYC's highest priority is the health and wellbeing of children. It is essential that we work to limit the spread of communicable disease. In addition, the CYC is not equipped to care for ill children. If your child becomes ill at school, they must be picked up within an hour of our call to you. When children become ill at home, they should remain at home if any of the following are true:

  • FEVER, any thermometer reading over 99.5 F when taken under the arm (100 F orally). Children may return when they are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.
  • DIARRHEA, defined as an increased number of stools compared to the child's normal pattern, with increased stool water and/or decreased form. Child must remain at home for 24 hours minimum. If the diarrhea continues, pick up and exclusion until advised by the child's physician.
  • VOMITING, two or more times in the previous 24 hours unless the vomiting is determined to be due to a non-communicable condition. Exclude from school for 24 hours after the last episode of vomiting.
  • RASH, with fever or behavior change, until a medical professional has determined it non-communicable.
  • CONJUNCTIVITIS ("pink eye"), if white of the eye is red, even without seeping. Child must be home for 24 hours after the start of medication. A note from the doctor clearing the child to return to school must be provided. If your child's red eyes are due to an allergy you must send in a doctor's note stating that they are not infectious and are permitted to come to school.
  • SEVERE COLD SYMPTOMS, i.e., sneezing and nose drainage. If your child's runny nose is due to an allergy you must send in a doctor's note stating that they are not infectious and are permitted to come to school. Please see RESPIRATORY ILLNESS section below. 
  • OTHER SIGNS OF POSSIBLE SEVERE ILLNESS, including unusual lethargy, irritability, persistent crying, difficulty breathing, or persistent barking-type cough.
  • ANTIBIOTICS, if children have started on antibiotics for an illness, they must be on the antibiotic for a minimum of 24 hours prior to returning to school. 

If your child is ill enough to be unable to participate in classroom activities, they should remain at home. 

RESPIRATORY VIRUS GUIDANCE (INCLUDING COVID-19, FLU, AND RSV): 

Overview: The University of Maryland, the Maryland State Department of Education, and the Office of Early Learning have accepted the CDC's 2024 updated guidance on respiratory illness that is intended to lower the risk and spread of infection from a range of common respiratory viral illnesses, including COVID-19, flu, and RSV. Lowering the spread of illness remains a community responsibility.  To that end, if your child has respiratory virus symptoms:

  •  Keep children home until fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication, and symptoms are improving.
    • "Symptoms improving" means:
      • Your child no longer feels ill,
      • Your child can participate fully in their daily home/school routines (note: daily school routines are typically more strenuous than home routines), and,
      • Symptoms such as cough or runny nose are very mild or infrequent.
  • When your child returns to school, they must mask for the next five days or around others, and we recommend masking for up to 10 days if any symptoms persist. 

Exposure to COVID and other respiratory illness:

  • Masking is recommended during periods of high transmission but is not required (We will try to share this information when it is applicable).
  • Masking is recommended if your child has a known exposure to someone with known COVID illness.
  • Families may ask their child to mask whenever they feel it is important to do so. 

We recommend the following CORE STRATEGIES to preventing illness:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

  • My child woke up with a cough, what do I do? If your child is coughing, please keep them home until they are feeling better and the cough is significantly improved. If there is a fever, they must wait until they are fever-free without medication for 24 hours to return, regardless of other symptoms. Upon being 24 hours fever-free and improving symptoms, they should mask for the next five days while at school
  • Do I need to test? We recommend that you test and report to us (it's recommended to test 5 days after known exposure, or at onset of symptoms and every 48 hours if negative--see FDA recommendations here), so we can report (anonymously) to other families who may want their child to mask in the classroom or at home. Remember, some children may live with older adults and/or immunocompromised individuals. It's our responsibility to give them the best possible chance to keep themselves safe and healthy.
  • My child started feeling better on Friday and hasn't had a fever; how long do they have to mask? If they saw improvement on Friday, then the five-day count for masking starts on Saturday. You child would mask Monday through Wednesday at school.
  • My child has asthma and sometimes develops a cough when out in the cold air. Do they have to stay home? No, as long as we have your child's asthma action plan on file and we are able to maintain your child's breathing within that plan, they may remain at school.
  • My child was diagnosed with the flu or RSV but was negative for COVID at the doctor's office. Do they have to mask? Yes. Chidlren with any respiratory illness must mask for the first five days when returning to school. In addition, they must have significantly improving symptoms and have been fever-free for at least 24 hours before returning. 
  • What are the current vaccination recommendations for COVID and other respiratory illness? Vaccinations are available from 6 months old for influenza and COVID, and from birth through infancy, during pregnancy, and for adults over 60 for RSV. See this document for additional information on efficacy and timing of vaccinations.

Our goal at the CYC is to take care of each other--to keep ourselves safe, to keep our friends safe, and to keep our classrooms safe. We rely on you to help us do this. By following our respiratory illness policy carefully, we can do our best to prevent the transmission of illnesses that may harm others- even if our own personal risk is small.