To ensure students are healthy enough to attend in-person instructions and activities, parents/guardians should perform a symptom check every day before the student leaves home. Please review the information below related to COVID-19, Flu and Flu-like Illnesses, and Gastrointestinal (GI) Viral Illnesses.

COVID-19

If you believe your child has symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or your child is a close contact with someone with COVID-19 symptoms, including anyone who lives in your home, please keep your child home from school and contact your child’s School Nurse or Principal immediately.

The Maryland Department of Health defines a COVID-19-like illness as when a person has any one of the following: cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or smell; OR at least two of the following: fever of 100.4 degrees or higher (measured or subjective), chills or shaking chills, muscle aches, sore throat, headache, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, and congestion or runny nose.

For more information, please visit the online message (Links to an external site.) from HCPSS Office of Health Services.

Flu and Flu-like Illnesses

Students displaying symptoms of fever, vomiting or diarrhea should stay home until they have been symptom-free for 24 hours without the aid of fever-reducing medication. Additional symptoms of the flu include cough, headache, chills, sore throat, fatigue, and body aches.

Please visit the HCPSS website (Links to an external site.) for more information.

Gastrointestinal (GI) Viral Illnesses

Students displaying symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps should stay home until they have been symptom-free for 24 hours without the aid of fever-reducing medication. Students with a confirmed lab diagnosis of norovirus should not return to school until they have been symptom free for 48 hours.

Please visit the HCPSS website (Links to an external site.) for more information.

If your student becomes ill during the day and it is determined that they need to be picked up and taken home from school, it is extremely important that the student be picked up as soon as possible. To make this process easier, we are asking all parents/guardians to take these steps now:

1. Please be sure that your Family File is updated with your most CURRENT contact information. It is imperative that we have a means to get in touch with you in a timely manner.
2. Also in your Family File, please make sure your emergency contacts are up to date, with current contact information.

There is nothing more important to us than the safety and health of our students, our staff, and their families. These guidelines were developed in conjunction with the State of Maryland and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thank you for working with us to keep our students safe.