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Children at child care centers not required to wear masks but will be screened daily

Patriot-News - 6/2/2020

Parents returning to work might be concerned about their children’s safety during the coronavirus pandemic.

To help ease their anxiety, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services issued safety guidance Tuesday as some of the state’s counties begin to reopen.

The department wants families to have the most up-to-date information as the state transitions into the yellow and green reopening phases, said Teresa Miller, the department’s secretary.

“Pennsylvania’s fight against this virus is not over, and we must be diligent to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as facilities reopen," she said.

Since March, Miller noted that 18 cases of COVID-19 have been identified among children and staff at 13 child care centers in eight counties.

Gov. Tom Wolf’s office ordered most child care providers to shut down during the early stages of the coronavirus crisis but created a program in which centers could apply for waivers to care for children of essential workers

Centers operating in the state’s red phase counties are still required to have a waiver to be open. However, centers in yellow and green counties can operate without a waiver but are not required to be open, Miller said.

Regardless of the phase, all open facilities must follow Centers for Disease Control guidelines for child care programs, including more frequent cleaning, as well as limiting the number of items such as toys brought in from home, she said.

In addition, Miller said staff are required to wear cloth face coverings, but children do not need to wear masks. Face coverings for children are still recommended by the CDC , especially for older youth in indoor or crowded locations.

Babies and children under age 2 should not wear masks.

“One of the things I would continue to stress is child care is a very controlled environment,” said Tracey Campanini, Deputy Secretary of the Office of Child Development and Early Learning.

She stressed there’s a distinction between controlled environments versus public spaces, and children ages 2 and older should always wear masks while out in public.

Screenings, which might involve temperature checks, are required to enter all childcare facilities and no changes will be made to child-to-caregiver ratios, Miller said. Social distancing will be practiced and children will be assigned to the same groups and staff daily.

In addition, Miller said child care centers must communicate with parents if there is exposure or an outbreak of any communicable disease including COVID-19 at their center.

For more information:

Those who need child care in yellow and green-phase areas can find options here: www.findchildcare.pa.gov.

Those concerned about the health and safety of their child or whether their child care is following CDC guidelines, can contact OCDEL’s Child Care Certification Regional Office in their community to report concerns.

Families who need assistance paying for child care can apply for Child Care Works, Pennsylvania’s subsidized child care program at www.compass.state.pa.us or by contacting the Early Learning Resource Centers that serves their community at www.raiseyourstar.org.

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