Health Services Information in Spanish

In the event that a student or staff member exhibits symptoms of general illness (fever >100.0, vomiting, OR diarrhea):

• The student must stay home until it has been at least 24 hours since they had: fever, vomiting, OR diarrhea without the use of fever/vomiting/diarrhea reducing medications

To prevent the spread of infection, parents can:

• Observe their children for signs of infection that may include fever, cough, cold, vomiting, and/or diarrhea.

• Keep sick students at home and seek medical attention, when needed.

• Remind their children to wash hands frequently and avoid touching their face and putting fingers in their mouths.

• Keep children home until free of fever (<100.0) for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication.

• Keep children home until vomiting and/or diarrhea have ceased for 24 hours without the aid of anti-diarrheal medication.

• Ensure that their children are up to date on vaccines.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a highly infectious respiratory virus that caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is typically transmitted through droplets released when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. It may also be spread by touching a surface with the virus on it and then touching one’s mouth, nose, or eyes, but this is less common. 

COVID-19 affects different people in different ways and can include a wide scope of reported symptoms ranging from mild to severe.

Although there can be many different symptoms related to COVID-19, the most common symptoms associated continue to be:

• Fever

• Cough

• Shortness of breath

The safety and security of our students and staff are of upmost importance and we are committed to doing our part to decrease the risk of exposure and infection related to the virus.  As such, we will operate in compliance with existing state laws and regulations, including all executive orders issued by the governor of Texas in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that are currently in effect.

The CDC has changed the isolation period for COVID-19 along with other respiratory illnesses, please read the following to see updated guidelines.

https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/guidance/faqs.html

Per the CDC:

Prior Guidance: The previous COVID-19 guidance recommended a minimum isolation period of 5 days plus a period of post-isolation precautions. It was created during the public health emergency, at a time when we had lower population immunity, fewer tools to combat respiratory viruses, and higher rates of severe illness, including hospitalizations and deaths. 

Updated Guidance: The updated Respiratory Virus Guidance recommends that people stay home and away from others until at least 24 hours after both their symptoms are getting better overall, and they have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication). Note that depending on the length of symptoms, this period could be shorter, the same, or longer than the previous guidance for COVID-19. It is important to note that the guidance doesn't end with staying home and away from others when sick. The guidance encourages added precaution over the next five days after time at home, away from others, is over. Since some people remain contagious beyond the "stay-at-home" period, a period of added precaution using prevention strategies, such as: 

• Taking more steps for cleaner air; 

• Enhancing hygiene practices; 

• Wearing a well-fitting mask; 

• Keeping a distance from others; and/or 

• Getting tested for respiratory viruses can lower the chance of spreading respiratory viruses to others.

Why are the updated recommendations about ending the "stay home" period based on symptoms and not testing?

• It is important to note that the updated guidance states that testing is an option during the 5 days of additional precautions following the "stay home" period. While COVID-19 at-home testing can give a rough approximation of whether a person is still infectious, at-home testing for other respiratory viruses is not widely available. CDC guidance throughout the pandemic recognized that repeated testing through the course of illness is not practical for many people. Several factors were considered in updating this recommendation:

• The severity of certain symptoms for COVID-19 and flu, and most prominently fever, correlates to some extent with duration of viral shedding—an indicator of contagiousness. In other words, as symptoms improve, especially fever, infectiousness tends to go down in most people.

• Regardless of which respiratory virus is the cause, symptoms are a simple indicator for determining when to act.

• The total number of days of precautions when sick, that is, a period of staying home and away from others plus 5 days of additional actions, covers the period during which most people are still infectious.

• Most people do not know what virus is causing their infection, and at-home tests (antigen tests) are only widely available for COVID-19.

• This recommendation is similar to longstanding public health practice based on symptoms for flu and other respiratory viruses.

What does "improving symptoms" or "symptoms are getting better" in the updated guidance mean?

• This means that a person is starting to feel better, and the body is returning to normal after an infection. Symptoms can be used as simple indicators to help people make decisions about prevention strategies, such as how long to stay home or when to return to work or school. A respiratory virus infection can have many types of symptoms, some of which can last beyond when someone is infectious, such as a lingering cough. So having a single symptom or a combination of symptoms is not as important as the overall sense of feeling better and the ability to resume activities. Fever is mentioned as a specific symptom in the guidance because people tend to be more infectious when they have a fever