Ontario government launches COVID-19 screening tool for students and teachers

The Ontario government has launched an online interactive COVID-19 screening tool for parents, students and teachers.

The tool is designed to help students and employees determine if they should go into school. Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the launch of the tool during a press briefing.

“It’s free, voluntary and easy to use. Please use this tool to help with screening your child for symptoms before they go to school everyday. Teachers and school staff should also use this tool to screen themselves before they come to school,” Ford said.

Since the government has asked parents to screen their children each morning before sending them to school, this tool is meant to make it easier to decide if they should attend school.

Students have the option to print off their assessment result and show it to their teacher or another school employee.

“Using this tool is optional and is not tracked or enforced. If your school board or public health unit has another screening process, you can use that instead,” the government notes.

The tool asks if you’re currently experiencing any symptoms, if you’ve travelled outside of Canada in the last 14 days, if you’ve tested positive for COVID-19, if you’ve been close to someone who has tested positive, and if you’ve been asked by a healthcare provider to stay at home.

Once the assessment is complete, you’ll either be led to a green screen that says “Go to school” or a red one that reads “Do not go to school.”

The tool will tell that “you can go to school because you seem to be healthy and have not been exposed to COVID-19,” if you’ve been deemed safe to return.

If you’re advised to not go to school, the tool tells you to contact the school and let them know about this result. You’re then asked to stay home and visit an assessment centre to get tested or talk to a healthcare provider.

You can access the tool here.