Symptoms Our health check software will question all staff & participants (adults and children) before their time in the space, whether they are exhibiting any of the following symptoms:
- Fever
- Cough**
- Shortness of breath
- Chills
- Night sweats
- Sore throat
- Muscle/body aches
- Loss of taste or smell
- Headache
- Confusion
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
**Many children exhibit non-illness related dry cough and clear runny nose (such as with teething). We ask that all families maintain open communication about the history of such symptoms in their child. For instance, if your child has allergies OR has already been cleared by a pediatrician that it is not illness-related, please let us know ahead of time.
Those persons who are exhibiting symptoms must stay home. They will not be allowed to return to class until they either (1) stay home for 14 days since the onset of symptoms or (2) get NEGATIVE COVID-19 test results. In any case, they must also stay home for at least 24 hours after symptoms have gone away WITHOUT the use of medication. EXCEPTION - for younger toddlers where testing is not recommended by the child's pediatrician, KAW will accept a doctor's note to that effect. For more prolonged illness or quarantine, virtual programming will be made available to the family.
If a child exhibits symptoms during class and is sent home, the families within that class will be notified and kept up to date on the status of the affected child. “Close Contact” with a positive COVID-19 case Close contact is defined as any individual who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to positive specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated. If you have come into close contact, you will have been alerted by the affected person or the NYC COVID-19 Testing and Trace Corps. Participants are required to let Kids at Work know if you are a close contact. This includes caregivers, staff, parents, and children. Our health check software asks if a participant has come into close contact with a person confirmed as having a COVID-19 positive test before each and every class. Anyone who answers a “yes” to this question will be asked to quarantine per the NYCDOH and refrain from attending KAW programming for 10 days starting from the date of exposure OR starting from the date of isolation of the COVID positive individual.
What if someone in my child’s cohort has been defined as a “close contact”. Out of an abundance of caution, whenever we are notified that a participant (staff, child, or adult) is a close contact of someone else UNRELATED to Kids at Work, we do let the group know and we encourage all families to get tested. We keep the group abreast of the “close contact’s” testing results with permission of the affected person. We do not shut down any classes or do special cleaning, beyond the usual measures, or remediation in this case.
Testing POSITIVE for COVID-19 Families should be made aware that Kids at Work’s policies may be more stringent than other businesses, because we frequently work with unmasked children.
What if someone in my household who HAS been to KAW tests positive for COVID-19? You are compelled to contact Kids at Work in the case of a positive test result on the part of ANYONE who has entered KAW within 10 days of the positive result or onset of symptoms (whichever comes first). Kids at Work is required by law to contact the NYC Test and Trace Corps and to supply contact information of infected individual(s). The infected individual will be required to remain at home for 14 days from the onset of symptoms or the positive result, whichever is sooner. Individuals still displaying symptoms of COVID-19 will not be permitted to come back to class until 72 hours after symptoms have disappeared without the use of medication.
What if the positive case is NOT in my child’s cohort? In the case of a positive COVID-19 test on the part of a participant, KAW is required by law to alert the NY State and NYC Department of Health, who will contact the Test and Trace Corps to let close contacts know of the positive case. All participants in all groups will be alerted to the situation by KAW. Participants within the affected group, as well as their close contacts and family members, will be encouraged to get tested. KAW will close for 48 hours following alter of a positive case for a deep clean and microsprayer application by our remediation contractor, held on retainer for this purpose. All staff will be asked to get tested at no cost to the staff member. Staff members are paid for their time in acquiring testing for themselves. We ask our participants to remember that a positive case at KAW doesn’t mean that the case originated at KAW. We ask all participants to respect the privacy of all families and caregivers. This will only work if we’re part of a respectful, caring community. We DO NOT want positive cases to be fearful of coming forward as that puts everyone at risk.
What if there is a positive case within my child’s cohort? Individuals who came into contact from 3-7 days before the positive test result OR onset of symptoms on the part of the infected person (whichever is sooner) Families will be notified immediately by Kids at Work by email and phone. Kids at Work will contact caregivers directly IF we cannot reach families within 24 hours of trying to make contact. Families, staff and caregivers who have been to KAW at the same time as the infected person, within 3-7 days prior to the positive result OR onset of symptoms (whichever comes first) will be REQUIRED to show proof of negative test results to Kids at Work before they can return to the space. The test must be performed at least 5 days from exposure. No quarantining is necessary. How this affects whether programming continues to run largely depends on how widespread the contact is. Cancellation of programming is on a case by case basis. Kids at Work never cancels programming without providing either credits or refunds to its participants.
Individuals who came into contact from 2 days before the positive test result OR onset of symptoms on the part of the infected person (whichever is sooner) These individuals are considered "close contacts" by the CDC and will be contacted by the NYC Test and Trace Corps for further guidance. Kids at Work will share contact information for all individuals with the NYC Test and Trace Corps as required by law. Families will be notified immediately by Kids at Work by email and phone. Kids at Work will contact caregivers directly IF we cannot reach families within 24 hours of trying to make contact. Families, staff and caregivers who have been to KAW at the same time as the infected person, within 2 days prior to the positive result OR onset of symptoms (whichever comes first) will be REQUIRED to show proof of negative test results to Kids at Work before they can return to the space. The test must be performed at least 5 days from exposure.
These persons will also be required to quarantine for 10 days from the exposure, per NYCDOH.