This school year, with the coronavirus pandemic as a constant threat, a case of the sniffles might be reason enough to stay home from school.
That’s the message state health officials are sending to parents, teachers and child care providers as they work to limit the spread of COVID-19 and keep schools and day cares open. As of last week, there were 236 coronavirus cases associated to K-12 schools and 868 infections tied to colleges and universities.
Officials encourage parents to have alternate plans if a child needs to stay home because they are ill or may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
“Typical cold symptoms are not typical cold symptoms this season,” said Dr. Andrea Singh, chair of pediatrics for Park-Nicollet, who worked with state officials to create guidance for parents. “It is certainly possible it could be COVID.”
The Minnesota Department of Health created a “decision tree” to help parents decide whether a child experiencing symptoms should stay home from school or day care.
Children with one of the less common symptoms, such as a runny nose or sore throat, should consider staying home, the guidance says. Children with two or more of the less common symptoms or one of the more common symptoms, such as a fever or difficulty breathing, should stay home and get tested for the coronavirus.
People exposed to someone who has a known case of the coronavirus also need to be tested. Anyone with a positive test, possible exposure or concerning symptoms needs to stay home and quarantine themselves.
“We really need families to take the guidance from MDH seriously,” said Deb Mehr, president of the School Nurse Organization of Minnesota, who works in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan district. “When families disregard the guidance they put schools and child care in a difficult place and ultimately can lead to more exposure and more spread.”
The rate of new coronavirus infections in the county where a district is located is an important part of the guidelines state officials have provide to school leaders about when it is safe to hold classes in person. Most metro school districts have taken a cautious approach to reopening schools by relying on some distance learning or using hybrid class schedules with fewer students.
In the coming weeks, the state Department of Health plans to provide details on outbreaks in public primary and secondary schools by building. The information will likely be reported weekly as part of the state’s regular data updates about the COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota.
For colleges and universities, institutions are largely responsible for providing information about infections to their school communities. State officials have provided limited details on higher education institutions with notable outbreaks, such as in Winona, Mankato and the Twin Cities.
Of the 868 cases tied to higher education institutions, 164 of the patients were living on campus at the time their infection was reported. Of Minnesota’s roughly 200 colleges and universities, there are 67 with at least one case, 25 institutions with at least five and three schools with 100 or more.
Minnesotans in their early 20s are the age group with the most COVID-19 infections. As of Sunday afternoon there were 11,558 cases in that age group.
The Minnesota Department of Health reported 643 new coronavirus infections Monday. That brings the statewide total to 84,949 laboratory-confirmed coronavirus infections.
There are 78,238 of those patients who have recovered enough they no longer need to be isolated. The number of hospitalized patients continues to decline with 233 hospitalized over the weekend including 135 in critical condition.
Three more deaths were also reported, bringing the death toll to 1,922 fatalities with 73 percent of those deaths residents of long-term care facilities. The three deaths reported Monday lived at home and ranged in age from their late 50s to their early 70s.
Minnesota has now screened 1.7 million samples from 1.24 million patients. The cumulative test positivity rate is just under 5 percent, similar to the seven-day rolling average.