What happens if my kid gets sick? In the N.W.T., it's up to your local clinic

Your kid wakes up with a case of the sniffles and a croak in their throat. What next?

A runny nose and sore throat are examples of what N.W.T.schools are calling "minor symptoms" of COVID-19. If your kid has two of them, they've got to stay home.

But that's as far as many schools have gotten in their reopening plans. It's not immediately clear from those plans when your child would be able to return.

CBCNews requested information from the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer (OCPHO) on what parents should expect if their child develops COVID-19 symptoms. Here's what they said.

Step 1: Keep your child at home

The first thing to do is isolate your kid. That means keeping them at home while they're symptomatic.

Most schools are asking parents to monitor kids for either one "major symptom" of COVID-19 fever, shortness of breath, or a dry cough or two more common "minor symptoms." Those include aches, sore throat, runny nose, diarrhea, vomiting, "general unease," or a loss of smell, taste or appetite.

If they develop symptoms at school, they'll be placed in a sick room set aside for thispurpose until you can come collect them.

Step 2: Call your local health centre

After that, OCPHO advises parents to call their local health centre, which will "give the appropriate guidance."

"Every situation can be a little bit different and it is essential that advice from local healthcare providers are followed throughout the process," Mike Westwick, a spokesperson for the OCPHO, wrote in an email.

Based on your child's potential exposure to COVID-19, local health workers may order a test for your child.

For most people, that test involves a long swab being dabbed at the back of your throat. It's not painful, but it can be unpleasant.

WATCH | Take a tour of one Yellowknife school's measures for preventing the spread of COVID-19:

How one Yellowknife school is preparing for the return to classrooms

4 years ago

Duration 7:20

Yellowknife's Range Lake North School will be reopening with new measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

When can my kid go back to school?

There's been some confusion about that.

Health officials initially said it would be left up to local health centres to decide if students would need to wait for a negative test before returning to class.

Later in the day, health officials clarified that if the local clinicbelieved a child with symptoms had been exposed to COVID-19, they would need to isolate for a minimum of 14 days, regardless of a test result.

They also said children who did not receive a test "must self-isolate for a minimum of 10 days" after their symptoms first showed. Symptoms would have to "completely resolve" before they could return to class, Westwick wrote.

But Tuesday evening, they dialled that message back, saying if the local health clinic decided testing was not necessary, the child could return to school as soon as symptoms subsided.

So when can sick kids return to class? In short, if your child has been exposed to COVID-19 or has recently travelled, prepare for a minimum of 14 days of isolation. And if your local clinic decides a test is necessary, prepare to wait for the result.

Westwick says the average turnaround time for a test is about four days, though positive results are reported more quickly. Yellowknife's COVID-19 testing clinic has been advising patients they should receive a result in four to seven days.

And if your clinic decides no test is necessary, treat it like an ordinary sick day and wait for symptoms to subside.

What should we be doing while waiting for a result?

Most schools are offering "blended" remote and in-class learning so students in isolation can keep up with their studies.

That could include take-home worksheets, online classes and regular check-ins with teachers to discuss their progress.

If your kid is waiting for a test result but otherwise filled with youthful energy, it might be a good time to ask their teacher about options for learning at home.