Health Policies

Illness, Exposure and Screening

• Children will be screened for fever, dry cough and lethargic symptoms upon arrival and throughout the day.
• Children who have a fever of 100 degrees or higher will need be excluded from the center.
• Children who are ill will need to be excluded for 48 hours without symptoms or medication (illness may include vomiting, fever, diarrhea, undiagnosed rash, eye irritation or draining, lethargy, abnormal behavior).
• If your child is seen by a medical professional and diagnosed with something other than COVID-19, please call your Center Director as your child may be able to return within 24 hours after symptoms listed above. This will be discussed case-by-case. 
• Children who have been exposed to someone in their home who is infected with COVID-19 and are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms will need to be excluded for 5 days. If your child tests negative on day 4 and day 5 they may return to COT.
• Children, families and staff that have traveled out of the country or by cruise ship will be required to provide a negative test result upon return to COT. 

COVID-19 Exposure:

https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/schools/exguide.pdf

• If someone in a household is asymptomatic (does not have symptoms of COVID-19) and is being tested for COVID-19 because of exposure, the other children not being tested do not need to stay home or be excluded from COT.
• If someone in a household is symptomatic (has symptoms of COVID-19) and is being tested, all children MUST stay home until test results are known.
• If the test result is negative, children can return to COT.
• If the test result is positive, children should remain at home and begin a 5-day quarantine period starting on the last day they were in close contact with the person who has COVID-19-in order to return to COT, they must have a negative COVID test AFTER 5 days.
• For children and staff members that have 2 or more symptoms we ask for a test to be given.
• If any test comes back positive from a child or staff member that has been at COT during a contagious period, COT will notify any families and staff members as soon as we are aware, that have had direct contact with the individual. It will be the choice of the child’s family if they choose to quarantine their child that has been in contact. In the case of multiple cases in one classroom-we may require a classroom quarantine along with a negative test to return to COT.

Further Notes about Illness:

***Any child who is sent home and would like to return prior to 48 hours will be required to be seen by a medical professional before they may resume. After the child(ren) has been seen by a medical professional, they must notify the Center Director of what the illness may be. 

If a medical professional has cleared your child to attend sooner than 10 days, they MUST provide written documentation that states: 

“The child, (_____________) was seen and was evaluated for _____________________… The child does NOT have Covid-19 and is able to return to childcare without placing another child or adult at risk.” 

If your child(ren), or anyone in your home has come in direct contact with a person who has tested positive for Covid-19 it must be reported to COT immediately. The child(ren) will be required to stay home for up to 10 days. 

**Children may NOT be given a suppressant for a fever prior to attending COT.

Cleaning and Sanitation

• We clean all classrooms throughout the day and use 2 step Ecolab cleaning products to do this. We make sure to do a deep through cleaning every night with this process on all surfaces. We are also wiping down the playground equipment in-between class usage. 
• All toys, shelves, sheets, floors and equipment are cleaned daily. Any toys or items that go in children’s mouths are sent to our kitchen for a 3-step sanitation process as well. 

Center Care

• The first and foremost; we require all our staff and children to wash their hands upon entering the building. 
• We have limited any others from entering our buildings and as little movement throughout the classrooms.

Face Mask Wearing: 

https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/schools/masks.html

We ask that families children (over the age of 3) and staff that have been directly exposed to a person with COVID-19 to wear a mask while inside our center.

Face masks are used to reduce the likelihood that the wearer will transmit virus to other staff members or children. 

Key Messages About Face Masks

• Create and wear masks by following CDC guidance. 
• Be careful not to touch your eyes, nose, and mouth while wearing cloth masks to prevent potential contamination. 
• Wash your hands thoroughly before putting on the mask.
• Remove the mask carefully and wash your hands thoroughly after removing. 
• Wash cloth mask after each use.
• Disposable face masks must be replaced every 12 hours.
• Wearing masks does not replace the need to continue frequent hand washing, avoiding touching the face, and practicing social distancing, which are our best tools to help prevent the spread of illness. 
• Continue to use systems and processes for cleaning toys, keeping sick children home, washing hands, and other practices that are used every day. These actions help to keep COT healthy and safe. 

Children: MDH does not recommend that children attending COT wear cloth face coverings to reduce the risk for transmission unless the parent determines they can reliably wear, remove, and handle masks following CDC guidance throughout the day.

Tours
In person tours are available at this time Monday through Friday from 9 AM – 12 PM.

Classroom Closures
If Children of Tomorrow experiences an exposure incident, we will follow all guidance from the Carver County Health Department and the MN State Health Department to ensure that all children, family members and staff members are safe and we limit exposure and spread. Closures of classrooms and centers will be handled on a case-by-case scenario with their guidance.