Respiratory Virus (COVID, Flu, RSV) Guidance
As the threat from COVID-19 becomes more similar to that of other common respiratory viruses, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued Respiratory Virus Guidance with a unified, practical approach to addressing risk from a range of common respiratory viral illnesses that have similar routes of transmission and symptoms and similar prevention strategies. These steps reflect that many people with respiratory virus symptoms do not know the specific virus they are infected with.
There is now one clear answer to “What do I do when my child is sick? When you think your child has a respiratory illness like the flu or COVID-19, your child should stay home and away from others until feeling better overall and any fever has been gone for 24 hours. When you have a respiratory virus infection, you can spread it to others. How long someone can spread the virus depends on different factors, including how sick they are (severity) and how long their illness lasts (duration). This is not the same for everyone.
There are two questions to ask before your child returns to normal activities:
Are symptoms clearly getting better? These could include sneezing, coughing, fatigue, or muscle aches. Not every case of respiratory illness will cause a fever
If your child never had a fever, has your child been fever-free for a whole day without using fever-reducing medicines like Tylenol or ibuprofen?
When, for at least 24 hours, symptoms are getting better overall and your child has not had a fever (and is not using fever-reducing medication), your child is typically less contagious, but it still takes more time for the body to fully get rid of the virus. During this time, your child may still be able to spread the virus to others. Taking precautions for the next 5 days, such as wearing a well fitting mask, can help reduce this risk. After this 5-day period, your child is typically much less likely to be contagious.
For COVID-19, taking an antigen test can help you know how likely you are to spread the virus. A positive test tends to mean it is more likely that you can spread the virus to others. If you never had symptoms but tested positive for a respiratory virus, you may be contagious. Free COVID test kits are available from the front office.
SAS follows the most recent recommendations of the VA Department of Health (VDH) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and policies are subject to change based upon this guidance. Please refer to SAS Respiratory Virus Guidance found here for more information and contact the school nurse with any questions nurse@st-andrews-
A core prevention strategy is to stay up to date with eligible vaccines. Consult with your child’s pediatrician to keep them up to date with flu and COVID vaccines.
Please refer to the Respiratory Guidance Plan for Students and Staff 2024-2025 for more information and contact the school nurse with any questions at nurse@st-andrews-
