In Ontario, no Negative Test Needed to Attend School if Child has Only One Symptom

A paramedic administers a nasal swab at a drive through, pop-up COVID-19 test centre outside the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Sept. 20, 2020. The Canadian press/Justin Tang

As the backlog of lab tests for COVID-19 hits 80,000 in Ontario, the province has changed the guidelines for children attending school or daycare so that they will no longer require a negative test to return to class if they only have only one symptom.

“We are changing the policy and clarifying that schools and daycares should not be requiring a negative COVID test [if children have just one symptom]. In fact they shouldn’t even be requiring a doctor’s note,” Ontario’s Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barbara Yaffe said during a briefing on Thursday.