Health Topics

Skip to Content

North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit Logo North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit Logo Print

Contact Us
  • Public Health
    Services
    • Breastfeeding Clinic
    • Community Events and Farmers Markets
    • Dental Clinic
    • Flu Shot
    • Food Safety Certification Training
    • Healthy Babies, Healthy Children
    • Infection Prevention and Control Investigations
    • Inspection Results and Enforcement
    • Needle Syringe Program
    • Parenting Workshops
    • Prenatal Classes
    • Private Drinking Water Testing
    • The Sexual Health Clinic
    • Vaccination Clinics
    • Vaccination Records
    • Vision Screening
  • Health
    Topics
    • Air Quality
    • Alcohol
    • Animal Bites
    • Beach, Lake and Pool Water
    • Breastfeeding
    • Cancer Prevention and Screening
    • Climate Change
    • Dental Health
    • Diseases
    • Drinking Water
    • Emergencies and Being Prepared
    • Flu/Influenza
    • Food Poisoning
    • Food Safety
    • Gambling
    • Healthy Aging
    • Healthy Eating
    • Home Health and Safety
    • Housing and Homelessness
    • Injury Prevention
    • Intimate Partner Violence
    • 2SLGBTQ+
    • Mental Health
    • Naloxone
    • Parenting
    • Perfluoroalkylated Substances (PFAS)
    • Physical Activity
    • Preconception and Pregnancy
    • Prenatal Resources
    • Racism
    • Reducing Weight Bias
    • Sexual Health
    • Sharps
    • Smoking, Vaping and Tobacco
    • Substance Use
    • Vaccinations
    • Youth Engagement – IMPACT
  • Health Professionals
    and Partners
    • Camp Providers
    • Child Cares
    • COVID-19 Healthcare Providers, Hospitals and Long-Term Care
    • Designated Officers
    • Emergency Management
    • Group Home and Shelter Administrators
    • Health Care Professionals
    • Health Care Providers COVID-19 Vaccine Information
    • Letter from the Medical Officer of Health
    • Long-Term Care and Retirement Homes
    • Municipal Resources
    • Ontario Naloxone Program (ONP) Distributing Agencies and First Responders
    • Report an Overdose
    • Schools
    • Teaching Kitchen
  • Community Data
    and Reports
    • Chronic Diseases
    • Environmental Health
    • Health Behaviours
    • Housing and Homelessness
    • Indirect Impacts of COVID-19
    • Infectious Diseases
    • Injuries
    • Mortality
    • Nipissing Parry Sound Public Health Atlas
    • Oral Health
    • Population Demographics
    • Reproductive and Child Health
    • Substance Use
    • Well-being and Mental Health
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Accessibility
    • Board of Health
    • Careers and Placements
    • Contact Us
    • News and Events
    • Personal Health Privacy Policy
    • Programs and Services
    • RFPs and Tenders
Search Button

Back To Top

Schools, Child Care, and COVID-19

Home...DiseasesCoronavirus (COVID-19)Schools/Child Cares and COVID-19
  • Open new window to share this page via Facebook Facebook
  • Open new window to share this page via Twitter Twitter
  • Open new window to share this page via LinkedIn LinkedIn
  • Email this page Email

Renseignements en français

Ontario's Testing and Isolation Information Line is available 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week at  1-888-777-0730. 

If you have questions about what to do if symptomatic, positive or exposed please see the following page.

On this page:

  • Information for Parents/Guardians
  • Information for School/Child Care Administration and Staff

Information for Parents/Caregivers

Screening

  • Use the school and child care screening tool to help decide if your child should go to school/child care today.
  • If you have questions, please call the Provincial Testing and Isolation Information Line at 1-888-777-0730 (available from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. seven days a week).

Children and Self-Isolation

  • Mental health advice for quarantine and isolation - Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
  • Coping with separation from family and friends during COVID-19 - SickKids

Parenting and COVID-19

  • COVID-19 Parenting Resources
  • Parenting During COVID-19
  • COVID-19 and Your Child

Mental Health and Wellbeing

  • How to Support a Mentally Healthy Back to School for Your Child - SMHO
  • School Mental Health Backpack - CMHO
  • COVID-19: Resources to Build our Children’s Resilience - Psychology Foundation of Canada
  • Talking to Your Anxious Child About COVID -19 - Children’s Mental Health Ontario
  • Mental Health Services

Preventing the Spread

You can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in your child's school/child care community by teaching your child these simple routine practices:

  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

  • Sneeze and cough into your upper sleeve. If a child sneezes or coughs into their hand, hand hygiene should be performed. 

  • Wear a properly fitted face covering when required.

  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

Transportation

  • For specific back-to-school transportation information and guidelines, visit www.npssts.ca  and your child’s school board website.

  • When possible, choose walking and cycling to school. Finding an active way to school can give your child many benefits such as increased readiness to learn, decreased levels of stress and increased levels of happiness on the journey to school.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Visit the COVID-19 Vaccine: Information for Parents/Guardians webpage.

Information for School/Child Care Administration and Staff

Top 5 Tools for COVID-Safer Schools and Child Care Centres 2022-2023

Here is a one-pager with our top resources to support a safe and healthy 2022/2023 school year!

  • Top 5 Tools for COVID-Safer Schools and Child Care Centres

Screening

  • The School and Child Care Screening Tool should be used to determine if students/children can attend school/child care.
  • For additional support with screening:
    • School/Childcare Screening Support Tool
    • If you have questions, please call the Provincial Testing and Isolation Information Line at 1-888-777-0730 (available from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. seven days a week).

Screening tip: Choose any or all symptoms that are new, worsening and not related to other known causes or conditions

Guidance Documents

  • Management of Cases and Contacts of COVID-19 in Ontario Guidance Document

Posters

  • Elementary – COVID Rules Refresher Series
  • Secondary – COVID Rules Refresher Series
  • How to Wear a Face Covering
  • How to Wash Your Hands
  • How to Use Hand Sanitizer
  • COVID-19 Vaccine for Children and Youth
  • ‘I still wear a mask because…’ (CONSOLIDATED POSTER) 
  • ‘I still wear a mask because…’ (INDIVIDUAL POSTERS) 

Social Media 

Facebook/Twitter posts (Audience: Parents/Guardians)

  • COVID Rules Refresher Series

Instagram posts (Audience: Students)

  • COVID Rules Refresher Series 
  • COVID Spread
  • Mental Health

Presentations

  • Preventing COVID-19: Refresher Presentations for Schools and Childcare Settings (Public Health Ontario)

 Videos

Ways to Stay Healthy and Safe at School

  • COVID-19 Combined Precautions (WHO)

Masks and Face Coverings

  • Elementary – How to properly wear a mask or face covering (PHSD)
  • How Do I Properly Wear a Cloth Mask (OPH)  

Hand-Washing

  • Elementary – Hand-Washing Heroes (Health Canada)
  • How to Hand Wash (PHO)

Teaching Tools

  • Health Unit - Hand Hygiene Resource Manual (ages: 4-14) - This resource provides lesson plans, activities, and materials for teachers to use to educate students about germs, how they are spread, and how to prevent the spread of germs through proper hand hygiene.
  • School and Classroom Supports – Find resources to support classroom learning and a healthy school environment on various health topics (mental health, physical activity, healthy eating, substance use, vaping, and more).
  • Science North - Give Vaccines a Shot - Find videos, events, school programs, podcast episodes, and other fun online activities with accurate educational content.

Mental Health Resources 

  • School Mental Health Ontario - Student Mental Health Action Kit
  • 5 Ways to Wellbeing
  • Mental Health at School

Physical Activity Resources

“Recess is a necessary break in the day for optimizing a child’s social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development. Recess should not be withheld for punitive or academic reasons.”

OPHEA – COVID-19 Considerations for Physical Activity

Includes considerations for:

  • Physical education
  • Intramurals
  • Interschool sports

CIRA Ontario

  • COVID-19 Games to Keep You Going
  • Fair & Square
  • Bare Naked Games

Playworks: Safe Return to Play Guide 

Asphalt Green: Rep It Out! Games for Social Distancing 

PHE Canada: Physical Education Activities 

Health Unit – Physical Activity at School

Healthy Eating Resources

  • Health Unit - Healthy Eating at School
  • Bright Bites
  • Foodland Ontario: Kids Corner
  • Fruit and Vegetable Fact Sheets
  • Recipes

Find more information on COVID-19.

Health Topics
    • Air Quality
    • Alcohol
    • Animal Bites
      Toggle Section Animal Bites Menu
      • Rabies
    • Beach, Lake and Pool Water
      Toggle Section Beach, Lake and Pool Water Menu
      • Beaches
      • Public Spas, Pools and Hot Tubs
      • Harmful Algae Blooms
      • Swimmer's Itch
    • Breastfeeding
      Toggle Section Breastfeeding Menu
      • Using a Breastmilk Substitute
    • Cancer Prevention and Screening
      Toggle Section Cancer Prevention and Screening Menu
      • Sun Safety
    • Climate Change
    • Dental Health
      Toggle Section Dental Health Menu
      • Caring for Your Child's Teeth
      • Dental First Aid
      • Early Childhood Tooth Decay
      • School Screening Program
      • Water Fluoridation
    • Diseases
      Toggle Section Diseases Menu
      • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
        Toggle Section Coronavirus (COVID-19) Menu
        • Business and Workplaces
          Toggle Section Business and Workplaces Menu
          • Face Coverings and PPE
          • Signs and Screening Tools
        • COVID-19: What to do if Symptomatic, Positive or Exposed
        • COVID-19 Testing
        • COVID-19 Vaccine
        • Écoles/services de garde d'enfants et la COVID-19
        • Schools/Child Cares and COVID-19
      • Flu/Influenza
        Toggle Section Flu/Influenza Menu
        • About the Flu Shot
      • Hepatitis A
      • iGAS or Invasive Group A Strep
      • Lyme Disease
      • Measles
      • Monkeypox
      • Mumps
      • Shingles
      • Tuberculosis
      • West Nile Virus
      • Whooping Cough (Pertussis)
        Toggle Section Whooping Cough (Pertussis) Menu
        • Coqueluche - Foire aux questions
    • Drinking Water
      Toggle Section Drinking Water Menu
      • Lead
    • Emergencies and Being Prepared
      Toggle Section Emergencies and Being Prepared Menu
      • Cleaning up after a Flood
      • Drinking Water Disinfection Instruction
      • Emergency Kits
      • Food and Water Safety for Power Outages
    • Flu/Influenza
    • Food Poisoning
      Toggle Section Food Poisoning Menu
      • Farm Fresh Eggs Safety
    • Food Safety
    • Gambling
    • Healthy Aging
      Toggle Section Healthy Aging Menu
      • Age-Friendly Communities
      • Call-in and Online Activity Groups for Older Adults
    • Healthy Eating
      Toggle Section Healthy Eating Menu
      • Community Groups & School Programs
      • Cooking and Food Skills
        Toggle Section Cooking and Food Skills Menu
        • Freezing Fruit and Vegetables
      • Find a Registered Dietitian
      • Food and the Environment
      • Food Insecurity
      • Get Cooking
      • Healthy Food for Life
        Toggle Section Healthy Food for Life Menu
        • Nutrition During Pregnancy
        • Feeding Your Baby
        • Feeding Your Preschooler
        • Feeding Your School-Aged Child
        • Nutrition for Older Adults
      • Healthy Recipes
        Toggle Section Healthy Recipes Menu
        • A Cut Above the Roast
      • Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program
    • Home Health and Safety
    • Housing and Homelessness
      Toggle Section Housing and Homelessness Menu
      • Homelessness Factors
      • Housing is a Health Issue and a Human Right
      • Homelessness Prevention
      • Local Services to Address Homelessness
      • Stigma and its Impacts
    • Injury Prevention
      Toggle Section Injury Prevention Menu
      • Concussions
      • Helmets
    • Intimate Partner Violence
    • 2SLGBTQ+
      Toggle Section 2SLGBTQ+ Menu
      • Committing to 2SLGBTQ+ Equity
      • Homophobia
      • Pronouns
      • Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression
      • When Someone Comes Out
      • Youth and Teens
      • Positive Spaces and Other Training
      • Resources
    • Mental Health
      Toggle Section Mental Health Menu
      • 5 Ways to Well-being
        Toggle Section 5 Ways to Well-being Menu
        • Be Active
        • Connect
        • Give
        • Keep Learning
        • Take Notice
      • Mental Health Services
      • Postpartum Mood Disorders
    • Naloxone
      Toggle Section Naloxone Menu
      • Naloxone Training FAQ
    • Parenting
      Toggle Section Parenting Menu
      • New Parent Resources
      • Parenting During COVID-19
    • Perfluoroalkylated Substances (PFAS)
    • Physical Activity
      Toggle Section Physical Activity Menu
      • Active Transportation
      • Physical Activity Resources
        Toggle Section Physical Activity Resources Menu
        • Exercise Class Schedule
        • Virtual Exercise Classes
    • Preconception and Pregnancy
    • Prenatal Resources
    • Racism
    • Reducing Weight Bias
      Toggle Section Reducing Weight Bias Menu
      • Body Positivity
    • Sexual Health
      Toggle Section Sexual Health Menu
      • Birth Control
      • Men’s Sexual Health (Guys into Guys)
        Toggle Section Men’s Sexual Health (Guys into Guys) Menu
        • Santé sexuelle chez les hommes : pour les hommes qui aiment les hommes
      • Preconception Health
      • Pregnancy Testing and Options
      • PrEP
      • Sex After Having a Baby
      • Sexually Transmitted Infections
      • Sex & COVID-19
    • Sharps
      Toggle Section Sharps Menu
      • Safe Sharps Handling and Disposal
    • Smoking, Vaping and Tobacco
      Toggle Section Smoking, Vaping and Tobacco Menu
      • Quit Smoking
      • Arrêter de fumer ou de vapoter
      • Smoke-Free Spaces and the Law
      • Vaping and E-cigarettes
      • Vapotage et cigarettes électroniques
    • Substance Use
      Toggle Section Substance Use Menu
      • Cannabis
      • Drug-Related Stigma
        Toggle Section Drug-Related Stigma Menu
        • Let's work together to: Stop the shame. Stop the blame. Stop the stigma.
      • Healthy High - Risk-Taking Can Be Healthy
      • Methamphetamine Use
      • Opioids
      • Social Determinants of Health
    • Vaccinations
      Toggle Section Vaccinations Menu
      • Adult Information
      • Child Care Information
        Toggle Section Child Care Information Menu
        • Vaccination Information for Parents
      • COVID-19 Vaccines
        Toggle Section COVID-19 Vaccines Menu
        • COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments
        • COVID-19 Vaccine & Vaccination Frequently Asked Questions
        • COVID-19 Vaccine: Information for Parents and Caregivers
      • Hepatitis B Vaccine Information
        Toggle Section Hepatitis B Vaccine Information Menu
        • Informations sur le vaccin de l'hépatite B
      • Meningococcal Disease Vaccine Information
        Toggle Section Meningococcal Disease Vaccine Information Menu
        • Informations sur le vaccin contre la méningococcie
      • Publicly Funded Immunization Schedule
      • School Information
        Toggle Section School Information Menu
        • Informed Consent
        • Consentement éclairé
      • TB Testing
      • Tetanus, Diphtheria and Whooping Cough Vaccine Information
      • The Law, Exemptions, Suspensions and Exclusions
        Toggle Section The Law, Exemptions, Suspensions and Exclusions Menu
        • Suspension Process
    • Youth Engagement – IMPACT

Contact Us

Subscribe to this page

North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit Footer Logo

  • Website

    • About Us
    • Employment Opportunities
    • News
  • Links

    • Accessibility
    • Privacy
    • Sitemap
    • Feedback Form
  • Resources

    Increase Contrast

Your lifetime partner in healthy living!

Copyright 2022 North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit

By GHD Digital

Browser Compatibility Notification

It appears you are trying to access this site using an outdated browser. As a result, parts of the site may not function properly for you. We recommend updating your browser to its most recent version at your earliest convenience.