FAIRMONT — With area schools returning to in-person learning for 2020-2021, the position of school nurse is all the more crucial in light of coronavirus regulations.

Nancy Backer, school nurse at Fairmont High School, and April Tordsen, school nurse at the elementary school, discussed what they are expecting for the year.

“We are definitely expecting it to be busier,” Backer noted. “In a normal year when students and adults begin gathering in indoor spaces, the typical fall illnesses show up, such as the common cold and the flu appear. Now add on top of that that we’re in a pandemic with the coronavirus, and it’s fair to assume we’ll be very busy.”

Backer said some of the extra workload will be education-based.

“We’ll be following the Minnesota Department of Health and [U.S. Centers for Disease Control] guidance that we are required to,” she said. “The expectation from that guidance is that we’ll be educating parents on what to watch for and how to screen their children out the door, and likewise for staff. The expectation is that we have a healthy population coming into the building.

“When you’re in a pandemic, we have to count on the fact that every single one of us has to take personal responsibility to ensure that we keep the risk as low as possible. If a student or teacher reports any symptoms while they’re in the school, then we’ll do an assessment and are required by the MDH and CDC to send them home immediately, and send their siblings home as well.”

The MDH Decision Tree for People with COVID-19 Symptoms in Youth, Student, and Child Care Programs dictates that those with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 must stay home for at least 10 days after symptoms first appear, and until no fever is detected for at least 24 hours without medication and improvement of other symptoms. Siblings and household members should also stay home for 14 days.

Tordsen said elementary school staff will help younger students understand and follow rules for social distancing and the wearing of masks.

“I think our administration has been good as far as to make sure that all that education is started right away,” she said. “The first day of school we’re going to be talking about mask and hand hygiene, and the regular things that go along with keeping everybody safe and healthy in the school. But like everything that the teachers do, and they’re very good about it, I’m sure they’re going to have to re-educated throughout the days, weeks and months to make sure we’re all following those guidelines.”

Backer and Tordsen said they have plans in place if one or both of them falls ill and needs to stay home for a period of time.

“Like regular illnesses, we always educate staff at the beginning of the school year,” Backer said.

“We also back each other up,” Tordsen said. “We do have an area school nurse group in our two-county area and there’s potential for additional backup if that would be needed.”

The pair note that the state and federal guidance changes daily, and they will eventually be working with school administrators to get protocols and decision tree information to families.

“Again, education is a key factor,” Backer said. “Then it’s a matter of taking personal responsibility. Those are going to be huge in keeping us all safe and in school.”