Hampshire County Council issues coronavirus symptoms advice for parents

Parents and carers in Hampshire are being advised on when to send their children to school during the pandemic - with a new reference guide to help them decide.

Hampshire County Council has published a checklist which describes coronavirus symptoms - and explains what to do if a child has them.

Executive member for Education and Skills Councillor Roz Chadd says sometimes it can be difficult to tell the difference between symptoms for colds and coronavirus:

“If your child feels ‘under the weather’, it’s not always easy to know if you should send them to school, particularly as the symptoms of a simple cold could be mistaken for COVID.

“Our handy checklist clearly describes the coronavirus symptoms and explains what parents and carers should do if a child or family member has them. This guide can be found on our coronavirus Back To School web page where it is available to download and print.”

She added: “I also want to take this opportunity to thank schools and parents for everything they are doing to follow the important social distancing guidelines. Coronavirus transmits quickly and with infection rates rising across Hampshire, we must pull together."

The check list asks:

Does your child/household member have one or more of the following common coronavirus symptoms?

There is also advice about when to self-isolate.

The guide suggests that parents do not get their children tested unless they have one or more coronavirus symptoms.

You can find the guide here:

https://www.hants.gov.uk/socialcareandhealth/coronavirus/schools/flowchart