Revised 7/5/2021 based on new guidance from OCDEL

Drop-Off and Pick-Up

· Small groups should take turns with drop-off and pick-up times. This will help with social distancing outside the facility or in front of the facility. Drop-offs and pick-up should take place outside or at the entrance or vestibule of the facility. We are avoiding having parents enter the building.

· Children will wash hands upon arrival before entering their classrooms.

· Families should have the same adult drop off and pick up the child each day.

Upon arrival, one of our teachers will meet families at the building doorway to conduct the brief visual health screening and also accompany your child into the building. We are limiting parents to the doorway of the facility. 

At pick-up time if we are in the building we ask that you ring the bell and wait outside and we will bring your child and their belongings to you. If we are outside playing we will have their belongings outside with us for pick-up so that you may leave from the playground.

Health Screening at Entry for Staff and Children

The parent or guardian/staff should take the child’s/their temperature daily before coming to the facility. We will check for signs of being sick for all staff and children at entry each day.

Daily, upon arrival parents/guardians/staff must sign a health screening form or answer the health screening question in the Procare App in order to attest that the child has been free of any of the following since the last time they were in care and that their temperature has been taken:

· A fever of 99.5°F or higher or a sense of having a fever?

· A cough that you cannot connect to another health problem?

· Shortness of breath that you cannot connect to another health problem?

· A sore throat that you cannot connect to another health problem?

· Muscle aches that you cannot connect to another health problem or to another activity such as physical exercise?

· Does anyone in your household have any of the above signs right now?

· Has your child/staff been close with anyone suspected or confirmed with COVID-19?

· Has your child/staff had any medication to reduce a fever before coming to care?

Child care rules still do not allow providers to care for children who have other signs of being sick such as diarrhea and vomiting.

If the answer to any of the above questions is “yes” your child/staff may not stay at school. Refer to “Returning to a child care facility after suspected COVID-19 symptoms” below.

If the answer to all of the above questions is “no”, check the child/staff for signs of being sick, such as flushed cheeks, tiredness, and extreme fussiness. Keep a distance of at least 6 feet of space or have a physical barrier between you and the child/staff. If we suspect your child has an illness of any kind, we will not allow your child to stay at school. If at any time while your child is at school and they become ill for any reason you will be required to pick them up immediately.

Temperature Check

The parent or guardian/staff should take the child’s/their temperature before coming to the facility or in front of the child care provider and then report the finding on the Procare App. The child care provider should stay at least 6 feet away from the parent or child during the temperature check. The facility may also take a non-contact temperature if they feel it is necessary.

Social Distancing

When possible, we will reduce group sizes to no more than 10 children and adults total. For example, one adult and nine children or two adults and eight children. We will keep groups together throughout the day. When possible, we will not combine groups at opening and closing, and keep staffing the same within each group. If we can, we will keep the same groups from day to day. 

Practical tips to maintain social distancing:

· Limit the number of children in each program space.

· Increase the distance between children during table work.

· Plan activities that do not need close physical contact.

· Limit item sharing. If children share items, remind them not to touch their faces and wash their hands after using these items. Younger children should have their own set of items to avoid sharing.

· Remove any items that cannot easily be cleaned and disinfected.

· Maintain 6 feet of distance and reduce time standing in lines.

· Go outside more and open windows often.

· Increase space between cribs and nap mats to 6 feet if possible.

· Adjust the HVAC system or open windows to allow for more fresh air to enter the program space.

· If possible, do not bring separate groups together.

Hygiene Practices

· Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Require hand washing per child care rules.  Children and adults should wash hands when they arrive at the child care, enter the classroom, before meals or snacks, after outside time, after going to the bathroom, after nose blowing or sneezing, and before leaving to go home. Help young children to make sure they are doing it right.

· If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand gel with at least 60% alcohol and preferably fragrance-free. Per child care rules, alcohol-based hand gels are not allowed for children under age 2.

· Children, families, and staff should not touch their eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

· Cover coughs or sneezes with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Clean hands with soap and water or hand gel (if soap and water are not readily available).

Cloth Face Coverings

OCDEL Guidance - 

 As of June 28, 2021, the Universal Face Covering Order has expired. This includes unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals. Individual families or employers may want to continue to use face coverings, but it will no longer be a mandate. 

Infant and Toddler Procedures for Prevention of COVID-19

If possible, child care classes should include the same group each day, and the same child care providers should remain with the same group each day.

Keep each group of children in a separate room.

Limit the mixing of children, such as staggering playground times and keeping groups separate for special activities such as art, music, and exercising.

If possible, at nap time, ensure that children’s naptime mats (or cribs) are spaced out as much as possible, ideally 6 feet apart. Consider placing children head to toe in order to further reduce the potential for viral spread.

It is important to comfort crying, sad, and/or anxious infants and toddlers, and they often need to be held. To the extent possible, when washing, feeding, or holding very young children caregivers should wear long hair up off the collar in a ponytail or other up-do.

· Child care providers should wash their hands, neck, and anywhere touched by a child’s secretions.

· Child care providers should change theirs or the child’s clothes if secretions are on clothes. 

· Contaminated clothes should be placed in a plastic bag or washed in a washing machine.

· Infants, toddlers, and their providers should have multiple changes of clothes on hand in the child care center.

Child care providers should wash their hands before and after handling infant bottles prepared at home or prepared in the facility. Bottles, bottle caps, nipples, and other equipment used for bottle-feeding should be thoroughly cleaned after each use by washing in a dishwasher or by washing with a bottlebrush, soap, and water. We will send bottles home each day so that parents can make sure they are thoroughly cleaned.

Diapering

When diapering a child, wash your hands and wash the child’s hands before you begin, and wear gloves.

Follow safe diaper changing procedures. Procedures should be posted in all diaper changing areas. Steps include:

· Prepare (includes putting on gloves)

· Clean the child

· Remove trash (soiled diaper and wipes)

· Replace diaper

· Wash child’s hands

· Clean up diapering station

· Wash hands

After diapering, wash your hands (even if you were wearing gloves) and disinfect the diapering area with a fragrance-free bleach that is EPA-registered as a sanitizing or disinfecting solution. If other products are used for sanitizing or disinfecting, they should also be fragrance-free and EPA-registered. If the surface is dirty, it should be cleaned with detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection.

Cleaning and disinfecting procedures

Clean, sanitize, and disinfect throughout the day. Follow licensing guidance, but increase how often you clean.

· Cleaning removes germs, dirt, food, body fluids, and other material. Cleaning increases the benefit of sanitizing or disinfecting.

· Sanitizing reduces germs on surfaces to levels that are safe.

· Disinfecting kills germs on surfaces of a clean object.

· The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates sanitizer and disinfectant chemicals. If you sanitize or disinfect without cleaning first, it will reduce how well these chemicals work and may leave more germs on the object.

DEALING WITH CONFIRMED OR PROBABLE COVID-19 CASES AND EXPOSURE TO COVID-19:

The following pertains to all facility persons, household members enrolled at Dall’Inizio DaySchool who either test positive for COVID-19 (confirmed case) or who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 and have developed symptoms (probable case).

For COVID-19 cases:

*An outbreak is defined as a single positive COVID-19 case.

• If the child is in care when the test results are confirmed positive, the child must be isolated until the appropriate party arrives to pick them up.

• Follow the “Discontinuing at home isolation” guidance below for timelines on returning to the child care setting.

• If a facility person or child tests positive for COVID-19, areas used by the person who tested positive must be closed for a period of 24 hours following the confirmed positive COVID-19 case of child or facility person in attendance so that the facility can be cleaned and disinfected properly. Close contacts as defined below, must self-quarantine.

• If a facility person or child becomes ill with COVID-19 like symptoms as defined above, close off areas used by the person who is sick and clean and disinfected properly.

o The individual should be evaluated by their healthcare provider immediately.

o If the individual tests positive upon further evaluation by a healthcare provider, follow guidance under Exposure to a person who tests positive for COVID-19.

• The Director shall inform parents of enrolled children, by communication through our school app, when there is a suspected outbreak of a communicable disease or an outbreak of an unusual illness that represents a public health emergency in the opinion of the Department of Health as per 55 Pa. Code §3270.136(b), §3280.136(b), and §3290.136(b).

• Dall’Inizio DaySchool will report positive COVID-19 cases to the Department of Health (DOH) as per 55 Pa. Code §3270.136(d), §3280.136(d), and §3290.136(d), EXCEPT in the counties listed below on page 13. Facilities within the counties listed on page 13 must report positive COVID-19 cases to their local health department, who will in turn report this information to DOH. 

• Dall’Inizio DaySchool will report positive COVID-19 cases and positive COVID-19 cases that result in death to their Department of Human Services (DHS) Certification Representative.

• Dall’Inizio DaySchool will utilize the DHS Licensed Facility COVID Data Collection Tool. Facilities who do not have access to the DHS Licensed Facility COVID Data Collection Tool will inform their DHS Certification Representative to ensure the information is entered into the COVID Data Collection Tool by DHS personnel.

• Dall’Inizio DaySchool will inform facility persons of positive COVID-19 cases within the facility by communication through our school app.

Exposure to a person who tests positive for COVID-19:

Exposure is defined as being within 6 feet of the individual who tests positive for COVID19 for a period of 15 minutes or more. It also means coming into direct contact with droplets from a COVID-19 positive individual. Persons who test positive are considered infectious 48 hours before the onset of symptoms. Persons testing positive but who do not have symptoms are considered infectious 2 days after exposure (if known) or starting 2 days before test date (if exposure is unknown).

If a facility person, household member, or a child is exposed to an individual who tests positive for COVID-19:

• If a child becomes ill at the facility, the operator shall notify the child’s parent as soon as possible.

• Dall’Inizio DaySchool will inform parents of enrolled children, by communication through our school app, when there is a suspected outbreak of a communicable disease or an outbreak of an unusual illness that represents a public health emergency in the opinion of the Department of Health as per 55 Pa. Code §3270.136(b), §3280.136(b), and §3290.136(b).

• Dall’Inizio DaySchool will report to their DHS Certification Representative when a facility person, child, or household member is exposed to a positive COVID-19 case.

• Dall’Inizio DaySchool will utilize the DHS Licensed Facility COVID Data Collection Tool. Facilities who do not have access to the DHS Licensed Facility COVID Data Collection Tool will inform their DHS Certification Representative to ensure the information is entered into the COVID Data Collection Tool by DHS personnel.

• Dall’Inizio DaySchool will inform facility persons of possible exposure to a positive COVID-19 case by communication through our school app.

RETURN TO CARE

Children and facility persons identified as ill on screening or who are sent home for being symptomatic:

Children or facility persons who meet criteria for illness on screening or who become ill while at the facility and are sent home should be referred to their healthcare provider for evaluation.

For facility persons and children, who are not currently a close contact or quarantined, presenting with symptoms that may be associated with COVID-19 may return to a facility when:

• Symptomatic child/facility persons who is not tested: exclude for 10 days from symptom onset AND at least 24 hours after fever resolution (if present) without the use of fever reducing medication AND improved respiratory symptoms.

• Symptomatic child/facility persons determined by a health care provider to have an illness other than COVID-19: exclude until without a fever for 24 hours (if fever present) without the use of fever reducing medication and symptoms improving.

• Symptomatic child/facility persons with test negative: exclude until without a fever for 24 hours (if fever present) without the use of fever reducing medication AND improved respiratory symptoms.

Discontinuing at home isolation:

A symptom-based strategy (i.e., time-since-illness-onset and time-since-recovery strategy) is the only recommended strategy in discontinuing at home isolation. A test-based strategy is no longer recommended to determine when to discontinue home isolation, except in certain circumstances as determined by a healthcare provider.

Symptom-Based Strategy

Individuals with COVID-19 who have symptoms and were directed to care for themselves at home may discontinue isolation under the following conditions:

• At least 1 day (24 hours) have passed since recovery defined as resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and improvement in symptoms; and,

• At least 10 days have passed AFTER symptoms first appeared.

For Persons Who Tested Positive for COVID-19 but have NOT had COVID-19 Symptoms:

In Home Isolation:

Persons with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who have not had any symptoms and were directed to care for themselves at home may discontinue isolation after no less than 10 days have passed since the date of their first positive COVID-19 diagnostic test, provided no symptoms have developed during that 10-day period.