COVID-19 Patient Instructions for Self-Isolation

                                  that you can Read/Print out   11/11/2020

                        ______________________________________________

GUIDANCE REGARDING SCHOOL RE-ENTRY

DURING SARS COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Please Note: The following is our professional opinion regarding school re-entry, and like all opinions, there are more than one in this world. Ultimately, the decision whether to re-enter your child(ren) is a parental one. We will briefly outline the current facts, as we know them, to assist you in this decision. Please understand, at this point of time, there is no right or wrong decision. It is truly based on your family’s specific situation, your child(ren)’s health background(s) and your overall comfort level. 

I)      In most cases, children benefit from attending school in-person. There are numerous mental, emotional, and physical benefits from attending school in-person.

II)    SARS CoV19 (COVID) is a NEW (novel) virus pandemic that currently has no available vaccination to prevent or lessen the effects of contracting the disease.

III)  The proper wearing of masks has been shown to drastically reduce the spread of the COVID. When coupled with social distancing and good hand washing, it appears that the spread can be decreased significantly.

IV) Currently, it appears that if/when children do contract the disease, they remain mostly asymptomatic. However, there have been cases, primarily when there is an underlying health issue (i.e.: asthma, exercise­induced bronchospasm; immune-compromised conditions) that children can become ill while having COVID or, shortly thereafter, with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS). 

Based on the above and without the development of any new information on COVTD, the following are our recommendations:

I)       Children 2 years and older should wear masks when at an indoor location away from their home. If you are going to send your child to school, you ought to now start acclimating them to wearing masks. Start out with 15 minutes/day while at home and add 15-minute increments every third day. If you start this now, by the time school starts your child should be comfortable wearing a mask for upward of 3-4 hours. By Labor Day, they should be able to tolerate a mask for an entire school day.

II)    Children are resilient. Have open conversations with them and explain why they are being asked to wear the masks and the importance it has for everyone.

III)  If you are unable to acclimate your child to wearing a mask or if you believe that your child is going to be non-compliant or uncooperative with wearing a mask while at school and your child or anyone in their immediate contact circle at home has pre-existing conditions as discussed above, then in-person school attendance might not be a good fit for your family at this time.

IV)  Educate yourself regarding the County's or your specific school's plans for disinfecting, social distancing, and how they plan on handling children whose parents send them to school sick (which hopefully will not happen in this COVID era all of us are currently living in), etc. Do not be apprehensive to ask questions of your school's administration. Again, if the school's plans coupled with correct and consistent wearing of a mask do not meet your expectations, then re-entering your child in-person at school will not be a right fit for your family at this time.

V)    Do not rely on social media for educating yourself regarding COVID. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provide reliable and credible information regarding COVID.

We will try to assist all our parents during this unprecedented, fluid, and anxious time. As we mentioned before, the ultimate decision when to re-enter your child into in-person schooling is a parental one. If you can, ensure that your child:

I)   understands and will comply, cooperate, and correctly wear a mask,

II)  will practice good hand washing,

III) will follow the guidelines and safety measures put forth by your school,

IV)  has no underlying pre-existing conditions, nor does any other child or anyone else in your immediate family,

then in-person schooling is a beneficial experience and should resume as soon as possible for your child(ren).

     Sincerely,

The Providers of Children’s Clinic of Wyomissing

_________________________________________

Mask Regulations  11/19/2020

                   - We truly believe it is so important to follow all mask 

                          regulations.

                   - Please be advised we are unable to provide                

                          exemptions from the mask mandate.

                   - Mask exemptions are only given to those with a 

                          significant physical disability that makes them 

                          unable to remove the mask on their own.

                   - Thanks for helping us keep our community safe.

     If you believe your child might qualify for a Medical  

        Exemption from having to wear a mask at school,

Click here to view/print the .PDF file:

Clinical Decision Tree for Mask Exemption Requests for School Aged Children

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