Managing communicable diseases in schools
Refer to your school board policy first. This is an additional resource if you have questions or concerns.
Role of the school
When managing sick children:
- Schools should not diagnose illness but can decide when a child is too sick to attend school. Consult your school or refer to board policies.
- In some cases, the Medical Officer of Health may order a child or staff member to stay home (refer to role of Peel Public Health)
Schools must report certain communicable diseases to Peel Public Health. Refer to when to report a communicable disease.
Role of Peel Public Health
Peel Public Health is responsible for the control of communicable diseases in the community through screening, education, immunization, treatment, and follow-up of people who are sick or may have been exposed.
The actions we take depend on the type of disease, the severity, and how it spreads.
Peel Public Health will provide schools with:
- Information on infection prevention and control measures to take.
- Direction on when students should be excluded from activities or settings, when it’s safe to return for certain diseases.
- Information and consultation to schools to guide communicable disease management for sick children and staff.
- Guidelines for staff health requirements.
- Telephone support to schools.
Details regarding the diagnosis and treatment of an individual are confidential and cannot be shared with schools.
Hand hygiene
Washing hands thoroughly with soap and water or with an alcohol-based hand rub, is the most effective way to both prevent infection and stop the spread once an infection is present. Unclean hands are the most common means of transmitting infections when we touch our eyes, nose, and mouth.
Promote hand hygiene in your school by:
- Ensuring that washrooms and kitchen areas are regularly stocked with liquid pump soap and paper towels.
- Posting instructional signage about hand hygiene in kitchens and washrooms.
- Educating staff and students about cleaning hands properly and often.
- Recommending students clean their hands before snacks and lunch and after outdoor activities.
- Promoting hand hygiene prior to any food preparation and handling by parents, volunteers, staff, and students.
- Supervising and helping others learn good hand washing methods.
- Teaching children in a relaxed and fun manner such as singing the alphabet or a hand washing song.
- Providing easily accessible hand washing sinks or hand hygiene products.
- Providing warm water in washrooms so children are not deterred from washing their hands.
Refer to the correct handwashing poster
Alcohol-based hand rubs (also called hand sanitizer) containing 70% to 90% alcohol can be used when hands are not visibly soiled. Alcohol based hand rubs can be a fire hazard and harmful if swallowed. To reduce the risk, staff should assist and supervise children when using the hand rub. Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth until hands are dry.
Cover coughs and sneezes
Respiratory infections spread easily in schools. Children and staff should cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, or cough and sneeze into their flexed elbow. Throw away used tissues and immediately wash hands.
Under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, school administrators are required to report to the local Medical Officer of Health when someone may be infected with a communicable disease.
Certain diseases that have been confirmed by a doctor that require an immediate response by public health to prevent further spread.
Review the list of reportable diseases
To report, call Peel Public Health at 905-799-7700 or toll-free 1-888-919-7800.
This would be arranged separately with the school board during times when Peel Public Health is monitoring a certain disease in the community. Chickenpox is an example of a surveillance initiative.
To report Chickenpox in your school use the Notification of Chickenpox (Varicella) in Schools form.
Access the sample Chickenpox notification letter for parents.
Unusual increases in the number of students who have diarrhea, vomiting and flu-like sicknesses
Reporting these sicknesses gives Peel Public Health the opportunity to investigate possible food borne sicknesses and provide consultation on infection prevention and control measures for schools.
Schools do not need to report less urgent diseases such as hepatitis, Lyme disease, or sexually transmitted infections. These diseases are already reported to Peel Public Health by laboratories and community physicians as required by Ontario law.
Individual cases of common childhood sicknesses such as pink eye, hand foot and mouth disease or ring worm are not reportable to Peel Public Health unless special surveillance is conducted on one of these diseases.
Establish and follow your school or board policies on:
- Managing sick children
- Managing infectious communicable diseases
Students with illness symptoms like fever, rash, sore throat and vomiting or diarrhea should be encouraged to stay home when sick. This will help to reduce the spread of infection in your school. In these common situations, principals should use their discretion or board policy to decide whether a student should be at school or home.
There may be circumstances when principals will need to work with Peel Public Health to exclude students from school because of a disease investigation. We will notify the board and schools of these situations and will provide guidelines as required.
Refer to the Canadian Pediatric Society for further details on suggested exclusions and readmissions for various communicable diseases.
Gastrointestinal illness can spread from person to person. Illness can spread when a sick person does not wash their hands after using the toilet. Exposed individuals can become infected if they do not wash their hands before eating or touch their face area.
Learn how to manage outbreaks of vomiting and diarrhea