Some parents, child cares, call for updates to COVID-19 rules
The staff at Kim Yeaman's child care centre spend time filling, emptying into the garbage, and cleaning 15 small bins for sensory materials like sand to comply with COVID-19 policies, and recently she has been wondering why.
Pandemic-era guidance for child care centres doesn't allow for group sensory play, such as water tables, and Yeaman isn't so sure that makes sense for a room full of toddlers.
"What are we gaining from that, that...their germs from their hands don't mix with other children's germs from their hands?" she said.
"That just happens naturally. They lick each other. I can't stop them from licking each other."
The COVID-19 regulations for Ontario child care centres haven't changed substantially since they reopened last summer. Some parents and providers say while staff should continue to wear masks, it may be time to revisit other policies, from allowing singing once again to letting parents inside the building.
"I just feel like, as the entire province continues to move through the stages, there hasn't been any stages for child care," Yeaman said.
"I see Stage 3 when Toronto FC is going to have (thousands of) people in the stadium and parents can't walk their children into the centre?"
The rules say that "as much as possible, parents should not enter the premises," so kids are now dropped off at the doors, often handed off to a teacher who is not their own, leaving parents with little to no interaction with the people caring for their children all day.
Katie Liddell's two-year-old son started daycare during the pandemic, so other than one tour, she has not set foot inside the Caledon, Ont., centre.
"So that's a whole part of his life I don't know," she said. "I get full reports, I know what he does all day. But to see them in action in there - as a parent you imagine what that's like, but you don't actually know."
Liddell said she has been impressed with her centre's adherence to protocols, and would feel comfortable if parents were now allowed inside, on a limited basis.
Some child-care providers say the requirement is not only hard on parents, it's very taxing operationally.
Karen Eilerson, of Discovery Child Care in Barrie, said she needs staff to essentially work six hours a day at the door.
"I need at least two or three extra staff to run children back and forth to families," she said. "In an industry where there's a major shortage of qualified staff…to have those staff need to be used for something else is really difficult."
With the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy ending soon but the additional staffing burden the same, child care centres could find themselves in trouble.
"We basically have fewer children and double the staff," Eilerson said. "With these rules continuing, we won't be able to operate."
Toronto mother Sophia He said she wouldn't feel comfortable just yet with parents being allowed back in the buildings. But she thinks the rules around group sensory play and singing could be revisited since children are in the same classroom all day anyway.
"Since they are not wearing face masks and they are still running around, I don't think not doing these activities is going to reduce the risk of the children catching the virus," she said.
As for the risk to staff, Eilerson wonders if the PPE requirements could be loosened. Staff currently have to wear both medical masks and a face shield or goggles. But Eilerson notes that the latter are tools to protect the wearer and all of her staff members are fully vaccinated.
Carolyn Ferns, with the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, said staff are also run off their feet with the cleaning regulations. The understanding of surface transmission a year ago was different than it is now, but staff are still spending so much time on "hygiene theatre," she said.
"All of the additional cleaning and sanitizing and keeping each child's toys separate and constantly disinfecting the surfaces - that's still happening even as we've now understood that those aren't the things that drive transmission," she said.
"It needs to be refocused on air filtration and ventilation, and not on making (early childhood educators) be doing all this extra cleaning."
A statement from a spokeswoman for Education Minister Stephen Lecce did not signal that any policy updates are imminent, suggesting that the current rules are working.
"Health and safety training, adherence to protocols, practising hand hygiene, consistent screening, mask use and physical distancing have been key factors contributing to the safe environments fostered within child-care settings," Caitlin Clark wrote.
There have been just 50 cases in staff and children across the province in licensed child-care settings over the past two weeks. Non-school-aged kids are largely unmasked while at daycare and can't be vaccinated yet, though they are also considered to be low risk for serious illness.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
BREAKING Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, claims he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have told the court the accused unlawfully caused the death of four women, but argue he is not criminally responsible due to mental disorder.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Holocaust researchers use AI to search for unnamed victims
Researchers in Israel are turning to artificial intelligence to comb through piles of records to try to identify hundreds of thousands of Jewish people killed in the Holocaust whose names are missing from official memorials.
Russia warns Britain and plans nuclear drills over the West's possible deepening role in Ukraine
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.