HALIFAX -- Licensed child-care centres and family daycares reopened across Nova Scotia on Monday as the province continues to ease some of its COVID-19 restrictions.
Child-care centres are allowed to open at a minimum capacity of 50 per cent while family daycare homes can open at full capacity.
All daycares and child-care facilities are required to follow strict COVID-19 guidelines and have an individual plan in place to support reopening.
Some of the measures include increased cleaning, staggered pick-up and drop-off times, and limiting the number of visitors entering the facilities.
A table was set up outside Halifax’s Needham Preschool and Daycare Monday morning so caregivers could check a screening questionnaire before dropping off their children.
“The reason for this is so we can avoid parents coming in and out of our facility,” explained Janessa Williams, director of the Needham Preschool and Daycare.
“We are on the second floor, so they would have to walk all the way through the rec centre, touching railings all the way up the stairs, so this is how we’re going to hopefully prevent the introduction of COVID into our centre.”
Licensed child-care facilities and family daycares closed on March 17 as part of the provincial measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Parent Samantha Orianne-Walker says she is relieved daycares have finally reopened after three months.
“It’s definitely a relief to have daycare open and the socializing that they need from their peers and stuff like that is really important because at home we can only do so much,” said Orianne-Walker.
The provincial government says it will provide facilities with hand sanitizer and single-use surgical masks for the next six months.
It also says families will not be required to pay fees if they cannot access their child-care space, or are not ready to return, and their spots will still be held.
