What is the protocol for families and child care providers if a child or a teacher has COVID-19?

The following information comes directly from SF.gov. Please check this direct link for the most up-to-date information: https://sf.gov/schools-childcare-and-youth-programs-during-covid-19-pandemic 

CDPH School resources

• COVID-19 Public Health Guidance for K-12 Schools in California, 2022-23 School Year
• State of California Safe Schools For All Hub
• School Outbreak Response Teams

CDPH Childcare resources

• Guidance for Childcare Providers and Programs 
• COVID-19 Child Care Resources

SFDPH no longer has separate local guidance for schools, childcare, and programs for children and youth.  Please refer to above CDPH guidance for these settings.

Since new variants of COVID can spread more easily, SFDPH no longer tracks individual cases of COVID in schools. This is not an effective public health strategy. As a result, the following now applies:

For cases regarding children and youth: 

• Following the end of the COVID-19 State of Emergency, the Community Care Licensing Division has resumed regular pre-pandemic licensing reporting requirements.
• As of March 1, 2023, licensed childcare sites are no longer required to report individual positive cases of COVID-19 per CDSS guidance.
• Licensed childcare sites must continue to report outbreaks to their Regional Licensing Office.

For COVID-19 outbreaks (students, youth, and staff) in educational settings:

• Schools, childcare, and programs serving children and youth may report to SFDPH when at least 5% of their setting’s population (minimum 3 cases), including students and staff, have reported confirmed COVID-19 cases over a 14-day period.
• As of January 1st, 2023 the Cal/OSHA requirement for reporting of employee outbreaks of 3 or more to SFDPH is no longer required.
• Schools, childcare, and programs serving children and youth must continue to comply with the rest of Labor Code 6409.6 by notifying employees exposed to COVID-19 in the workplace. 
• To voluntarily report COVID-19 outbreaks, use (SPOT).

For more information on how to use the Schools Portal for Outbreak Tracking (SPOT) system, please view SPOT 2.0 Demo: Changes to the SPOT Portal or the Summary of SPOT 2.0 

The privacy and confidentiality of students and schools is important. SFDPH does not publicly share if there have been cases of COVID at a specific school site. SFDPH does not discuss cases with people who are not involved to ensure patient privacy and confidentiality.

Children’s Council offers free 1-on-1 support by phone and online, and virtual trainings for early educators, so that child care providers understand and comply with the latest health and safety guidelines. Call 343.4669 or email [e-mail] for more information.