London

Good news. The test is negative. So when can my child go back?

This week the Middlesex London Health Unit directed daycares and schools to allow symptomatic children to return who have received a negative COVID test, but are still displaying mild and improving symptoms.

This week, the health unit said your child must be fever-free but other mild and improving symptoms are okay

According to the Middlesex London Health Unit, kids who receive a negative COVID test must be fever-free and with only mild and improving symptoms before they return to school or daycare. (Bobby Hristova/CBC)

So your child got a COVID test and it's negative. Now what?

As of this week, the Middlesex London Health Unit said symptomatic children who have had a negative COVID result can return back to their child care centre or school, even if they still have symptoms. The catch? The child must be fever-free and the symptoms must be mild and improving. 

Since child care centres and schools reopened in Ontario, hundreds of parents across London have waited in line at one of the city's COVID assessment centres to get their symptomatic children tested and cleared to return to their daycare or school.

It's left many parents scrambling, taking time off work as they wait hours for a COVID test. Before this week, parents were also asked to wait until their children were entirely symptom-free before they could return to class or to daycare.

This chart is designed to help parents decide if they're child can return to school or daycare (Middlesex London Health Unit/Website)

What about the siblings of a sick child?

The answer is different if you're talking about school-aged children or kids in daycare. Asymptomatic siblings of a child in daycare need to stay home until the sick child receives a negative COVID test. However, at school, asymptomatic siblings can remain in class, provided that child moves ahead with a COVID test or an alternative diagnosis from their Health Care Provider.

If you're still having trouble determining if your child is safe to return, you can use the health unit's decision tree.