THE COVID-19 screening college students must cross earlier than they’ll come to highschool is beneath assessment, as Manitoba examines British Columbia’s transfer to take away signs, together with runny noses and sore throats, from its checklist.
Earlier than the varsity day, college students in Manitoba are required to reply a sequence of questions on potential novel coronavirus signs. They’re requested about the whole lot from latest journey to publicity historical past to present well being.
If they’ve a brand new onset or worsening of a fever increased than 38 C, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, vomiting, diarrhea or lack of style or scent, they don’t seem to be allowed to enter a faculty constructing.
College students are additionally requested to remain residence in the event that they expertise any two of the next signs: runny nostril, muscle aches, fatigue, pink eye, headache, unknown pores and skin rash, nausea or lack of urge for food.
“It’s all about how delicate you wish to be,” chief provincial public well being officer Dr. Brent Roussin mentioned throughout a Monday information convention.
“When you’ve got a really delicate screening device, it means many individuals might be excluded who don’t have COVID. In case you lower that sensitivity you then improve the probabilities of someone with COVID passing the screening check.”
Roussin mentioned runny noses are a sole symptom for about 10 per cent of the sufferers who’ve examined constructive in Manitoba.
On Monday, B.C. officers eliminated 10 signs from its back-to-school guidelines, citing the low chance of signs together with headache, fatigue, pink eye, dizziness, pores and skin rash, muscle aches, stomach ache and lack of urge for food.
Guidelines selections have to be made based mostly on native eventualities and charges of absenteeism, Roussin mentioned, including Manitoba might alter its checklist if absenteeism charges spike.
He famous flu season is on the horizon, and permitting all employees and college students into a faculty who’ve a runny nostril might trigger issues.
The federal authorities’s guidelines states signs fluctuate from affected person to affected person however doesn’t checklist a runny nostril or sore throat as indicators of COVID-19.
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Maggie Macintosh
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Maggie Macintosh stories on training for the Winnipeg Free Press. Funding for the Free Press training reporter comes from the Authorities of Canada via the Native Journalism Initiative.
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