When a staff or parent/guardian of a child report that the staff/child has been diagnosed with an infectious illness, the centre should refer to the Diseases of Public Health Significance list to determine if it is a reportable disease or not.  If it is a reportable disease, the centre must complete the notification form and submit it to the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) via fax at 705-733-7738 or phone 705-721-7520 extension 8809. If the diagnosed illness is not on the list, reporting is not required. If you have any questions regarding a reportable or unreportable disease, please reach out to SMDHU at 705-721-7520 extension 8809.

As per the Health Protection and Promotion Act, licensed child care centres are required to report all clusters of respiratory or enteric illness identified at the centre.  A cluster of illness is when the number of children/staff with similar symptoms exceeds baseline.  Centres are required to contact SMDHU at 705-721-7520 extension 8809 to report the increase.

If the centres are noticing clusters of illness outside of respiratory and enteric illness, they are not required to report this to SMDHU but are welcome to call if support is needed.