Communicable Diseases

Steps to prevent COVID-19: Checklist (PDF)

Steps to take when you have a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case in your facility: Checklist (PDF)

Other things you will need to consider:

1. COVID-19 Guidance for Operating Early Childhood Education & Child Care Programs (CDC)
2. Texas Department of State Health Services Minimum Recommended Health Protocols (TX DSHS)

Under the authority of Texas Government Code Section 418.108, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins Orders that employers shall not implement any rules making a negative COVID-19 test or a note from a healthcare provider a requirement before a COVID-19 recovered employee can return to work.

Streamline the process of sorting through information about COVID-19 testing and next steps with CDC’s new COVID-19 Viral Testing Tool. This interactive, mobile-friendly online tool complements CDC testing guidance and helps healthcare providers make decisions and recommendations for their patients on—

• Whether to order testing
• What kind of test to order
• How to interpret the test result
• What to do with conflicting test results
• Whether confirmatory (follow-up) testing is necessary
• How vaccination affects decisions for testing.

REPORT CASES:

If you become aware of a child, staff member or volunteer who has spent time in your facility that has tested positive for COVID-19:

• Notify DCHHS by a COVID-19 Positive Case Daycare Report Form. Email the completed form to: Daycareoutbreaks@dallascounty.org.
• Notify the state HHS's Dallas Child Care Licensing Office at 1-800-582-6036 or 214-583-4253.
• Make sure that children or staff who have symptoms of COVID-19 or test positive for COVID-19 stay home.

Notify Staff and Families:

• Notify the staff members, parents, and volunteers at your facility that there has been a positive case of COVID-19. Here are some model letters that can be tailored to your facility’s needs.
  • COVID-19 Exposure Notification Letter for Families - English (MS Word Document)
  • COVID-19 Exposure Notification Letter for Staff-Visitors - English (MS Word Document)
  • COVID-19 Exposure Notification Letter for Families- Spanish (MS Word Document)
  • COVID-19 Exposure Notification Letter for Staff-Visitors - Spanish (MS Word Document)
  • COVID-19 Factsheet for families (PDF)

• Advise staff and children who had close contact with the person who has COVID-19 to call their healthcare provider to get tested for COVID-19 or go to a free testing site: https://www.dallascounty.org/covid-19/testing-locations.php.
  • If they have COVID-19 symptoms, whether they are fully vaccinated or not
  • If they are NOT vaccinated (with or without symptoms)

People are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19:

• 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, like the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines; OR
• 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, like Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine

Individuals who are not fully vaccinated should continue to take all prevention steps until they are fully vaccinated, including the quarantine guidance below.

QUARANTINE:

Close contacts who ARE NOT fully vaccinated should stay home (quarantine), away from anyone who does not live with them, and watch for symptoms. Dallas County HHS recommends that close contacts quarantine for 14 days after their exposure to a lab-test-confirmed case of COVID-19.

A close contact with NO SYMPTOMS who IS NOT fully vaccinated:

• Stay in quarantine for 14 days after their last contact.

A close contact WITH SYMPTOMS, whether they are fully vaccinated or not, (even with a negative test):

• Stay in quarantine for 14 days after their last contact.

A close contact with NO SYMPTOMS and ARE fully vaccinated:

• They do not need to quarantine after an exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, but they should watch for symptoms for 14 days after their last close contact.
• As of July 27, 2021, the CDC recommends fully vaccinated individuals get tested 3-5 days after exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 and wear a mask in public indoor settings for 14 days after exposure or until they receive a negative test result.
• If they develop symptoms within 14 days after an exposure, they must isolate from others and contact their healthcare provider for evaluation.

Close contacts may return to the child care program the day after their quarantine ends, but only if they haven’t developed symptoms and are not sick.

For further details, please see the DCHHS Recommendations for Duration of Quarantine and advise all close contacts in quarantine to complete a Symptom Tracking Card.

CLEAN & DISINFECT:

Clean and disinfect your facility. Use EPA approved disinfectants. Please visit the CDC’s website for more information on cleaning and disinfecting safely.

1. Require sick children and staff to stay home.
2. Have a plan if someone is or becomes sick at your facility.
   • Reserve an isolation room or area (such as a cot in a corner of the classroom) that can be used to isolate a sick child. Then have their parents pick them up immediately.
   • Have a staff member, who is already a close contact of the child, remain near the isolation area to observe and care for the child.
3. Wear a mask covering your mouth and nose. Everyone 2 years or older should wear a mask in childcare facilities, except when eating or sleeping.
4. Wash your hands frequently.
5. Practice social distancing by staying 6 feet away from others and avoiding crowds.
6. Cover coughs and sneezes.
7. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces with EPA approved disinfectants.
8. Monitor you health daily by watching for symptoms like fever (100.4), cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19. Childcare programs conducting temperature screening should consider a combination of screening methods that use increased distance and physical barriers.
9. Getting vaccinated as soon as the opportunity is available is an important way for staff to stay safe and be less likely to get seriously ill from COVID-19. CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccination for everyone 12 years of age and older to help protect against COVID-19. You can learn more about this here.

More information may be found at the CDC's webpage: How To Protect Yourself and Others.