Anonymous
Post 08/26/2021 16:30     Subject: Four days to school and my kids all have a cold
Are you sure it's not allergies?

1) test for Covid
2) if negative, get some children's allergy medicine and try that
3) if they are still not completely well, stay home until better.
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2021 16:28     Subject: Re:Four days to school and my kids all have a cold
Anonymous wrote:I'm mildly surprised at people resisting a Covid test. They are cheap/free most of the time, and I personally would rather know. We've tested our kid twice for daycare, once to confirm that something was allergies and the other time because she has a stomach flu type illness and we needed a negative Covid test to send her back to school (and also so the daycare could be sure they didn't have an outbreak on their hands). Both times we were also happy to do it because I wanted to know! It's pretty easy to get a rapid test and while I'm not enthused about testing my kid constantly (it is very not fun for little kids, even the ones where they don't go deep in the nose), I certainly wouldn't resist getting one to put my own mind at ease, and to help the school keep track of what viruses might be circulating.


For me it's a time constraint, both in terms of going to get the test and in waiting for results. That's why the home test are useful.
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2021 16:28     Subject: Re:Four days to school and my kids all have a cold
Just FYI, we did the library tests last week and the turnaround was five days. So if one wants to test before school starts I'd suggest another option.
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2021 15:14     Subject: Re:Four days to school and my kids all have a cold
https://dcpsreopenstrong.com/health/#screen-for-illness-and-testing
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2021 15:13     Subject: Four days to school and my kids all have a cold
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The majority of kids I know who had covid, even since delta, had what their parents thought was a cold or allergies and were surprised when their tests were positive. The responsible thing to do is get them tested.


This. You should just get them tested. Do your the other families at your school a solid and just get them tested.


Just get one of those OTC tests from CVS.

Or, the library tests have a turnaround right now of less than 48 hours.


Do OTC tests count for DCPS?


In this situation the OP doesn't need to test for DCPS, so it's kind of not pertinent.

But anyway, the DCPS Reopen Strong website just says "test" in the situation of a close contact exposure. It doesn't say PCR.

Anonymous
Post 08/26/2021 15:10     Subject: Re:Four days to school and my kids all have a cold
I'm mildly surprised at people resisting a Covid test. They are cheap/free most of the time, and I personally would rather know. We've tested our kid twice for daycare, once to confirm that something was allergies and the other time because she has a stomach flu type illness and we needed a negative Covid test to send her back to school (and also so the daycare could be sure they didn't have an outbreak on their hands). Both times we were also happy to do it because I wanted to know! It's pretty easy to get a rapid test and while I'm not enthused about testing my kid constantly (it is very not fun for little kids, even the ones where they don't go deep in the nose), I certainly wouldn't resist getting one to put my own mind at ease, and to help the school keep track of what viruses might be circulating.
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2021 15:09     Subject: Four days to school and my kids all have a cold
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The majority of kids I know who had covid, even since delta, had what their parents thought was a cold or allergies and were surprised when their tests were positive. The responsible thing to do is get them tested.


This. You should just get them tested. Do your the other families at your school a solid and just get them tested.


Just get one of those OTC tests from CVS.

Or, the library tests have a turnaround right now of less than 48 hours.


Do OTC tests count for DCPS?
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2021 15:07     Subject: Re:Four days to school and my kids all have a cold
My kid has allergies and Spring we tested like every two weeks, because I'm like that. Nothing. Always negative. But now I'm glad you can buy home rapid tests, because I'm not going to be keeping him home every time he sneezes while we wait for PCR results.
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2021 15:06     Subject: Four days to school and my kids all have a cold
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The majority of kids I know who had covid, even since delta, had what their parents thought was a cold or allergies and were surprised when their tests were positive. The responsible thing to do is get them tested.


This. You should just get them tested. Do your the other families at your school a solid and just get them tested.


Just get one of those OTC tests from CVS.

Or, the library tests have a turnaround right now of less than 48 hours.
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2021 15:04     Subject: Four days to school and my kids all have a cold
Anonymous wrote:The majority of kids I know who had covid, even since delta, had what their parents thought was a cold or allergies and were surprised when their tests were positive. The responsible thing to do is get them tested.


This. You should just get them tested. Do your the other families at your school a solid and just get them tested.
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2021 14:37     Subject: Re:Four days to school and my kids all have a cold
Anonymous wrote:Are you confident it is a cold? Zero potential exposure to Covid? In that case, no test needed. If you have any doubt, the best thing to do would be to test. But hopefully it will clear up by Monday.

I have a kid with allergies. She takes daily medication. But on a super polleny day, or right after the lawn is mowed, she will most definitely be sneezing. Before- I would have never mentioned this to a teacher. But now I am making sure to tell everyone up front about her allergies- just to help alleviate any potential concerns they might have.


If your child sneezes/coughs due to allergy, you need to get a letter from the doctor about that.

https://dcpsreopenstrong.com/health/students/
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2021 14:36     Subject: Re:Four days to school and my kids all have a cold
Are you confident it is a cold? Zero potential exposure to Covid? In that case, no test needed. If you have any doubt, the best thing to do would be to test. But hopefully it will clear up by Monday.

I have a kid with allergies. She takes daily medication. But on a super polleny day, or right after the lawn is mowed, she will most definitely be sneezing. Before- I would have never mentioned this to a teacher. But now I am making sure to tell everyone up front about her allergies- just to help alleviate any potential concerns they might have.
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2021 14:35     Subject: Four days to school and my kids all have a cold
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So we are Covid testing for colds now?


absolutely. why is this a question?


+1. Of course we are.


Show me where in the DCPS guidance it says this is required.


The "ask, ask, look" policy is that every day, you have to assess your child for signs of COVID, including congestion, coughs, or "otherwise feeling unwell." No matter how convinced you are that it is "just a cold," any child with active symtoms of sneezing and runny nose needs to stay home until they get a PCR negative.


https://dcpsreopenstrong.com/health/students/
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2021 14:35     Subject: Four days to school and my kids all have a cold
The majority of kids I know who had covid, even since delta, had what their parents thought was a cold or allergies and were surprised when their tests were positive. The responsible thing to do is get them tested.
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2021 14:31     Subject: Four days to school and my kids all have a cold
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Even with a negative COVID test, please, please keep your kids home if they are symptomatic with something contagious (yes, including a cold). If you send them to school and they transmit the cold to other kids, you're starting a chain reaction of "is it COVID or not?" for other families (and for your school community).


I don’t feel like this is a fair ask with DCPS threatening to call CPS on parents with too many absences.


Yes, I’m very curious to see how DCPS will handle this. If people keep their kids home every time they’re sick this year, there’s going to be *a lot* of absences.