By Aurey Barrios
October 15, 2020
This fall, with the flu and cold season coming up, COVID-19 is going to get even more confusing. A lot of students need to know when to stay home from school or not.
Some might ask what is the criteria to stay home for the safety of other students. The district expert on this topic is school nurse Kathy Strasser.
“Students (and staff) shouldn’t come to school if they are sick-vague, but true. COVID-19 has so many symptoms that they warrant being cautious,” said by Strasser when asked when kids should stay home.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), if a student is sick they can return when: a doctor has diagnosed them with something else, they have a negative test result and no exposure OR they have had NO symptoms for 10 days, including being fever free for 24-hours with no medication.
While there are a number of symptoms that could be connected to a common cold, there are some tell-tale signs to watch out for. COVID-19 often starts with a fever over 100 degrees, shortness of breath, and loss of taste and smell.
The Norwood City Schools policy follows CDC recommendations, meaning students are not supposed to return to school until they get a negative COVID-19 test or 10 days from the first symptom. Teachers and students are likely to miss a lot of school in the name of public safety.
Although it’s impossible to predict the future of this virus, people are preparing for the possibility of closures as flu season complicates the already messy virus. Norwood High School has a plan in place to go completely virtual if that were to become a reality.
Despite all the concern there is reason to have hope. The southern hemisphere has reported that their winter flu season was not as bad as they feared at all thanks to consistent mask wearing in public places.
Strasser’s advice for students is to get a flu shot as soon as possible, wear your mask, stay out of large crowds and most importantly, wash your hands.
THE MIRЯOR 
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