This time of year, illness seems to be everywhere. For those of us who work with children every day, the sounds of coughing, sneezing and nose-blowing are an unpleasant soundtrack playing on repeat from November to May. And this year, Coronavirus, concerning new respiratory illness from China is getting a lot of attention and has many people worried about what will happen as it spreads in the United States.
(Editor's Note: This blog post was originally published January 30, but was recently updated on March 14 to reflect the most up-t0-date information around the spread and status of the illness.)
Coronavirus is a fairly common type of virus that can cause coughs, colds and fevers. Like the flu, there are different strains of coronavirus that can make people sick. Most of the strains are familiar, meaning people have been exposed to them in the past and many people are immune to them. Sometimes, a new strain of the virus emerges that people have not been exposed to before. That’s what is happening with coronavirus this year. Because the strain of the virus is novel, or new, more people are getting sick and we don’t have a good vaccine to prevent it.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 (the respiratory illness caused by novel coronavirus) is considered a pandemic, or global outbreak. There have been over 1000 confirmed cases across 47 states. About 80% of people who get sick with COVID-19 will get a mild form of the illness, with common symptoms of fever and cough. About 20% will face a more severe illness that may require hospitalization. While this is not a time to panic, it is time to prepare and be vigilant about handwashing, surface cleaning and keeping a safe distance from others. We are learning more about the virus every day, so it is important to know how to prevent infectious diseases from spreading and where to go for accurate public health information.
Doctors and scientists are still learning about the new virus and trying to understand how it spreads from person to person. As they learn more, we will get a better understanding of how to protect ourselves. For now, the CDC recommends protecting yourself and the children in your care by taking some basic precautions:
For child care providers, that means staying vigilant about hand hygiene and keeping a close eye on children and staff who are showing signs of illness. Daily health checks are a great way for providers to take a few moments to notice how each child is looking, feeling and acting when they first arrive. That will make it easier to notice if the child’s behavior or symptom’s change throughout the day.
In the long run, it is important for child care programs to have a plan for dealing with disease outbreaks. The American Academy of Pediatrics has a series of resources that can help you protect your health and your business in situations where lots of children or adults are getting sick.
The CDC has the most up-to-date information about what is going on with coronavirus in the U.S. For information about what is going on in your community, reach out to your state or local public health agency or contact a child care health consultant.
You can also take a look through the resources that Child Care Aware of America has compiled on our Coronavirus Resource Hub. Browse through the latest resources and information for CCR&Rs, child care providers, families and policymakers.