A recent email sent out to MHS students and parents on Oct. 20 about students being sent to school sick. The school recommends students stay home if they have any of the following symptoms: fever, sore throat, runny nose, congestion, cough, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, body aches, fatigue, or loss of taste or smell.

Realistically, this letter was sent as a reminder that COVID-19 is still a concern, and if students are sick they need to stay home, as it could possibly be the COVID-19 virus or another sickness that shouldn’t be spread.

Health clerk Rachel Long said, “We’ve had students not realizing the symptoms of COVID and we are just trying to stop the spread.”

This also begs the question: how sick is too sick to go to school?

The CDPHE (Colorado Department of Health and Environment) breaks down the minor and major symptoms of COVID-19.

The minor symptoms include sore throat, runny nose or congestion, muscle or body aches, headache, fatigue, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea.

The major symptoms include a fever over 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, loss of taste or smell, new or worsening cough, and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.

It’s important for students to stay home, whether they have major or minor symptoms, as it is the best way to slow the spread of sickness at school. 

This CDPHE chart of illnesses specifies if an illness justifies staying home.

When asked if this policy of staying home is more strict because of COVID-19, Ms. Long said, “It’s always been a policy that if you are sick you should stay home, but we are probably just more aware of it now [due to the pandemic].”

One possible reason there is a current surge in sickness is because of the many students seen not wearing their masks correctly at Mead High. Some have ignored the mask mandate and some have been wearing their masks under their nose, preventing the effectiveness of masks. It is important that students wear masks correctly when they are not eating or drinking to prevent others from getting sick with multiple different illness.

COVID-19 cases have decreased from last year, meaning it’s possible we will see a surge in other illnesses, such as the flu and common cold. This means masks can be used to protect students from illnesses other than the COVID-19 virus.