As child care centers and daycare programs struggle to keep their places open despite the Omicron surging everywhere, childcare providers can try these 3 ways to keep children in their centers.

These methods can help childcare providers minimize disruption not only in the children’s learning but also for the working parents they serve.

Test-and-stay programs

Early childhood education providers know what an important role they play in enabling parents to work while their children are cared for in a Covid-safe environment.
That is why, despite Omicron surging throughout the country, childcare providers favor employing a test-and-stay program in order for children to keep on coming to their childcare or daycare centers.
This is a great program for parents where spending only about 15 minutes waiting for a Covid test result is much more beneficial.
Waiting for 15 minutes is so much better than taking an unpaid leave at work to care for their young children. This short test also gives parents peace of mind, knowing that their child is not infected with Covid-19.

So long as children stay negative from Covid-19, this means they can continue attending their childcare programs.
This helps in giving the child continuity and stability.
It also minimizes the disruption in their learning track.

States like Massachusetts and Vermont have rolled out their programs, aiming to keep young children in child care and daycare centers.

Isolation Room

Have isolation rooms ready for children who show symptoms within the day.
In case a child shows symptoms within the day, having a separate room which can also act as an isolation room will help minimize the risk of the child spreading the virus to his/her classmates.

For the isolated child, an isolation room that’s also designed as a playroom can help him/her pass time in isolation in as normal a way as possible, without traumatizing the child or making him/her feel ostracized.

For the childcare providers, having an isolation room also helps them minimize the disruption in their daily routine and

Booster shots for all eligible staff

As vaccines and booster shots are still the best way to keep everyone safe from getting a severe case of Coronavirus, childcare providers and owners should do their best to ensure their childcare staff are protected against it.
While vaccination have been approved for children ages 5 and up, the majority of children and babies in their care are still unable to get vaccinated.

Having their secondary caregivers vaccinated and protected against the virus, parents and their children will have a less stressful time thinking whether their child is at risk of contracting the virus at the childcare centers.

Masking Protocol

With Covid cases continuing to rise due to the Omicron variant, masking protocols should be reactivated once again, especially in indoor learning environments. Since being vaccinated, or even boosted, does not necessarily mean one is exempt from being exposed and infected with the virus, masking will help mitigate the spread of the virus. This will prevent further infection and relatively lower the infection rate in the center.

Masking will also help protect the youngest babies and children in care especially if they are still ineligible to get the rapid antigen tests.