Your child has been tested for COVID-19. COVID-19, or novel coronavirus, is a viral
infection. Most children will have mild symptoms.
The most common symptoms are fever and cough. Less common symptoms include:
sore throat, runny nose, vomiting,
diarrhea, muscle aches, tiredness, skin changes or shortness of breath.
As with most viral infections, you can manage your child's fever and
pain with medications such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen,
unless a doctor has advised you not to take these. You should encourage your
child to stay hydrated by drinking fluids often.
If your child's COVID-19 test result is positive, then you will receive a call
from the emergency department as well as from your local public health unit,
to discuss the result and the need for ongoing isolation.
Please ensure that the emergency department has your correct phone number
before you leave today. If your child's COVID-19 result is
negative, then you will not receive a phone call notification.
But you can look up your child's test result through the SickKids MyChart
online portal or the government of Ontario's online results viewer.
Even if the test result is negative, your child should remain in isolation until
they are symptom-free for at least 48 hours
in order to avoid making other people sick.
Isolation for a child means staying home, not going for walks outside and no
visitors to your home, avoiding contact with others as much as
possible especially any at-risk people who live in your home,
covering their coughs and sneezes, washing their hands frequently.
Other people in the same household as your child should self-monitor for
symptoms. It can take up to two weeks from the
time a person is exposed to the virus, to the time they start showing symptoms.
They should avoid contact with the child by staying in a separate area within the
home when possible, using a separate bathroom and wearing a
mask when needing to be in the same room as your child.
You should also clean household surfaces often and ensure
everyone washes their hands frequently. If you need to return to the emergency
department, and your child has tested positive, then call ahead at 416-813-5807.
When you get to the hospital let staff know you have arrived and have your
child wear a mask. For the most up-to-date information on
visitor and caregiver restrictions that are currently in effect at SickKids,
please visit the SickKids website. Return to the emergency department if your
child has weakness or poor energy despite good
fever control, is not waking up or not interacting,
is not drinking or has persistent vomiting, has a fast heart rate even when their
fever is down, has difficult, fast or noisy breathing,
has blue lips or skin color, or has a seizure or convulsion.
If your child has a persistent fever, contact your primary care provider
who may advise you to return to the emergency department for assessment.
For more information about COVID-19, including
trusted resources to help you talk to your children about COVID-19,
parenting resources and mental health resources for kids during the pandemic,
please visit the AboutKidsHealth learning hub (www.aboutkidshealth.ca/COVID19)
Further information can also be found by visiting
covid-19.ontario.ca or by calling Telehealth Ontario.
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