In late June, the Washington Department of Health (DOH) released the Infectious Disease Control Guide for School Staff (IDCG). DOH and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) created this guide for Washington K-12 schools to prevent and respond to infectious diseases.
- The IDCG includes:
- Guidance on more than 50 different infectious diseases and more broad topics like animal bites and foodborne illnesses that might occur in schools. Each section covers distinguishing characteristics of the condition and the school’s responsibility for intervention.
- There are new sections for COVID-19, enterovirus, Mpox, Haemophilus influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which were not included in past versions of the guide.
- Other important resources for schools include guidance on safe cleaning and disinfecting, aerosol-generating procedures, respiratory protection programs, and common indicators of infectious diseases in children.
