The changes were made by the Association of Parents in Childcare in consultation with AJN Youth Doctors Netherlands and the RIVM. The RIVM has checked and approved the decision tree again.

The decision tree can be used to determine whether a (cold) child may go to childcare/primary school while coronavirus measures are in force.

The changes at a glance

  • ‘Coughing’ appeared in two places in the decision tree. This caused confusion, so coughing now appears only once in the tree. For completeness: children from 0 years old through group 8 who cough occasionally may go to childcare/school.
  • ‘Coughing more than occasionally’ has been replaced by ‘coughing a lot’ (in line with the wording in the LCI guidelines on children with prolonged nasal colds).
  • The following has been added to the introductory points (‘think before you begin’):
    ‘Has the child had coronavirus? In that case, the decision tree may temporarily not apply. Ask the GGD for advice.’ This applies, for example, if a child develops cold symptoms again or if a household member still has coronavirus but the child is allowed to leave quarantine again.
  • A lilac box referring to the RIVM rules has been added in the top right-hand corner. This information was always included in the footnote. However, it was not clear to all users that the decision tree does not stand alone but is a translation of the RIVM guidelines. That is why it was decided to give this information a more prominent place.
  • The explanation of ‘cold symptoms’ (the leftmost, blue box) has been adjusted on the advice of the RIVM. There are no substantive changes here.
  • For the title of the green box at the bottom right, the more positive wording has been chosen: When may a child return to childcare/school?
  • In the green box at the bottom right, under the heading ‘not tested’, mild symptoms have been specified: ‘cold symptoms (such as a blocked nose, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat) and occasional coughing’.

Protocol and location-specific plan

On 13 April, a new version of the childcare & coronavirus protocol was published. Before reopening, out-of-school care centres must have a location-specific plan.

Download the decision tree for ages 0 through group 8, dated 15 April 2021

About the decision tree for children attending childcare/school during the coronavirus pandemic

To prevent the spread of coronavirus, a number of rules apply to children: they may not go to childcare and/or school in all circumstances. For example, if they have been in contact with someone with coronavirus, have health symptoms (such as a runny nose, a cold or other coronavirus-related symptoms), or have returned from a red or orange area. Depending on the (severity of the) spread of coronavirus, the rules are tightened or relaxed. The decision tree changes accordingly. The most recent version of the decision tree can be used to determine whether a (cold) child may go to childcare/primary school. The tree is intended for all children attending childcare, such as a daycare centre, preschool care, childminder care or out-of-school care. The decision tree can also be used to determine whether a child may go to primary school while coronavirus measures are in force. An English-language version is also available.

For children attending secondary education (secondary school), higher education or university, a 12+ decision tree is available (also in Dutch and English). The 12+ tree also applies to adults. This enables, among others, childcare workers and teachers to determine whether they may go to work. The 12+ tree can be downloaded from the website of AJN Youth Doctors Netherlands.

The decision tree is a translation and graphical (schematic) representation of the RIVM coronavirus rules. The RIVM has checked and approved the decision tree.