Child Care Centres

COVID-19 Screening

COVID-19 School and Child Care Screening

Daily on-site confirmation of screening is required prior to/upon arrival at the child care centre for all children and staff up to March 20, 2022. Daily on-site confirmation of screening for all children and staff will no longer be required as of March 21, 2022.
Staff and children should self-screen every day before attending the child care setting using the COVID-19 School and Child Care Screening.
IMPORTANT! Carefully read and follow the advice provided with the screening result.

COVID-19 Symptoms

Refer to Poster: COVID-19 Symptoms

Most common symptoms of COVID-19:

Fever and/or chills; OR Cough; OR Shortness of breath; OR Decrease or loss of taste or smell.

Less common symptoms of COVID-19:

Runny nose/nasal congestion, Headache, Extreme fatigue Sore throat, Muscle aches/joint pain, Gastrointestinal symptoms (i.e., vomiting or diarrhea).

If a child/staff has one of the most common symptoms of COVID-19 or two of the less common symptoms of COVID-19, assume they have the virus and may be contagious. They must self-isolate, regardless of vaccination status (confirmation tests are NOT required).

Refer to the section For Children and Staff presumed to have COVID-19 or have tested positive on a COVID-19 test of this page.

If a child/staff has one of the less common symptoms of COVID-19, they can return to the child care centre if it has been at least 24 hours since their symptoms started improving (48 hours for nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea) and they do not develop any additional symptoms.

Household members do not need to self-isolate.

COVID-19 Testing for Children and Staff

When available, RATs or PCR self-collection kits may be used when a child or staff member is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19.

If a child/staff test positive on a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), the test result does NOT have to be confirmed with a PCR test. Parents do NOT need to report a positive RAT/PCR test to the child care centre.

Negative RAT/PCR Results

Symptomatic individuals who test negative on a single RAT are advised to self-isolate. A single negative rapid antigen test does not mean that they do no have COVID-19 infection.
If two consecutive RATs, separated by 24-48 hours, are both negative, the symptomatic individual is less likely to have COVID-19 infection, and the individual is advised to self-isolate until symptoms are improving for at least 24 hours (or 48 hours if gastrointestinal symptoms are present).
Individuals who test negative on a PCR test (processed by a lab) must stay home until their symptom(s) have been improving for 24 hours (48 hours if gastrointestinal symptoms are present).

For Children and Staff Presumed to Have COVID-19 or Having Tested Positive for COVID-19

All individuals who are presumed to have COVID-19 based on their symptoms or have tested positive on a COVID-19 test (PCR, rapid molecular, or rapid antigen) should:

self-isolate immediately as per the criteria in the You have symptoms and are concerned you may have COVID-19. Now what? flow chart.
- When calculating the isolation period, the first day of symptoms or positive result (whichever is earlier) count as day zero.
After self-isolation is complete, until day 10 (or day 20 for immunocompromised individuals) after the first day of symptoms or positive result, the individual must:
- Continue to wear a well-fitted mask in all public settings (including child care). Refer to Masking Requirement section of this page for additional instructions.
- Not visit anyone who is immunocompromised or at higher risk of illness (i.e., seniors).
- Not visit or attend work in any highest risk settings.

If a child presents with new or worsening symptoms consistent with COVID-19 at their child care centre, refer to Managing Students with COVID-19 Symptoms at School/Child Care Centres – Instructions for Staff

For Children and Staff Exposed to COVID-19

Note: Guidance below is for close contacts (high-risk contacts) who do NOT have symptom.

Close contacts include those who had contact with the symptomatic/COVID-19 positive individual within the 48 hours prior to their symptom onset (if symptomatic) or within 48 hours prior to specimen collection date and until they started self-isolating; AND

Were in close proximity (less than 2 meters) for at least 15 minutes or for multiple short periods of time without appropriate measures as masking, distancing and/or use of personal protective equipment.

If the child/staff was exposed to COVID-19 ONLY while at the child care centre, generally contacts would not be considered close contacts due to the layering of health and safety measures in place.

If the child/staff is a close contact:

Refer to You’ve been identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or someone with COVID-19 symptoms. Now what?
If self-isolation is complete after 5 days, or if self-isolation is not required, for a total of 10 days after the last exposure to the COVID-19 case, close contacts must:
- Self-monitor for symptoms and self-isolate if they develop any symptom of COVID-19.
- Continue to wear a well-fitted mask in all public settings (including child care). Refer to Masking Requirement section of this page for additional instructions.
- Not visit anyone who is immunocompromised or at higher risk of illness (i.e., seniors).
- Not visit or attend work in any highest risk settings.

Masking Requirement

The following are situations where masks should be worn in child care settings:

If a child becomes symptomatic while in child care:

Child care should provide the child with a medical grade mask if tolerated, and ensure the child remains isolated until they are picked up.
- Refer to Managing Students with COVID-19 Symptoms at School – Instructions for staff for additional information

When a child/staff is returning from international travel:

Under current federal travel requirements, individuals who are not fully vaccinated must wear a mask at all times when in public spaces (including childcare) for 14 days.

If a child/staff is presumed to have COVID-19 (or tested positive for COVID-19):

Once self-isolation is complete, the child/staff should wear a well-fitted masks at school, until day 10 (or day 20 for immunocompromised individuals) after the first day of symptoms or positive result.

If a child/staff is an asymptomatic close contact, they should wear a well-fitted mask at school during their self-monitoring period.

If self-isolation is required, the self-monitoring period starts when self-isolation is complete and lasts until day 10 after the last exposure to COVID-19.
If self-isolation is not required, the self-monitoring period starts immediately after the exposure and lasts for a total of 10 days.

NOTE: If you wear a mask at the child care setting as per the situations above:

Wear a mask at all times, including outdoors.

Reasonable exceptions include temporary removal for essential activities like eating (e.g., when eating in shared space at school/work while maintaining as much distancing from others as possible).

Do not participate in activities where mask removal is necessary. E.g.:

Playing a wind instrument.
Participating in a high-contact and/or high-intensity activity or sport if a mask cannot be worn safely.

Ask Dr. Paul: COVID-19 Vaccine for Children Aged 5 to 11

COVID-19 Symptoms

Masking Requirement

Guidance documents for Child Care

COVID-19 Management in Child Care