Respiratory Illness Guidelines Including COVID-19 for Students

If your child feels sick, please do the following: 

1. Review the Guidelines for the Exclusion of Children from School. If your child is not well enough to attend school, keep them home. 

2. Consider testing your child for COVID-19 and/or getting them tested for the flu or other respiratory illnesses. 

3. If your child tests positive for a respiratory illness, let the nurse know by completing the attendance form. 

4. Contact your child’s healthcare provider for guidance as there are treatments available for these viruses.

Returning to School after Illness:

The student needs to stay home until they meet both the following criteria:

• Have an improvement in symptoms over 24 hours and

• At least 24 hours have passed with no fever and without the use of fever-reducing medications such as Tylenol and Motrin

When your child returns to school, the CDC recommends they take added precautions over the next 5 days. Some recommendations for school are:

• Wear a well-fitting mask except when actively eating, drinking, or outside 

• Keep their distance from others, especially the elderly and those who are immunocompromised 

If your child tests positive for a respiratory virus, including COVID-19, but does not have any symptoms: 

1. They may attend school.

2. They may be at risk for spreading the virus to others, so we strongly encourage them to wear a mask for 5 days from the test date and follow the prevention strategies listed above.

3. If they develop symptoms, they must stay home until they meet the Returning to School Guidelines above.

If your child was exposed to someone with a respiratory virus: 

They do NOT need to stay home if they are asymptomatic (symptom-free). To protect high-risk individuals, consider having your child wear a mask for 5 days. If your child develops any symptoms, they should stay home and test.

As always, practice good respiratory hygiene and wash hands or use sanitizer frequently.

Please contact your School Nurse with any questions or concerns.

GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING COVID-19

• • Lexington Board of Health: COVID-19 

  • Department of Elementary and Secondary Education COVID-19 Information 

    • • About Department of Elementary and Secondary Education COVID-19 Testing

  • Massachusetts COVID-19 Interactive Data Dashboard

  • Massachusetts Department of Public Health COVID-19

  • COVID-19 Resources from the US Department of Education 

  • American Academy of Pediatrics COVID-19 Guidance for Safe Schools

  • Center for Disease Control (CDC): COVID-19

    • • • School guidance from the CDC

  • World Health Organization (WHO): COVID-19