EXCERPTS
The government caused quite the stir the other day when it announced it would begin gradually emerging from the coronavirus lockdown by sending the smallest children (ages 1-12) back to daycare, kindergarten and school from April 15.
Denmark is split down the middle by PM Mette Frederiksen and company’s decision.
Precautions taken
But whatever side of the fence you are on, new details have emerged regarding the details of the move.
The health authority, Sundhedstyrelsen, has produced a guideline that it hopes will ease the transition for children, parents and institutions. Read below.
The guidelines:
Who can return:
– children are permitted to go to school (0-5th grades), kindergarten and daycare if they don’t show symptoms of the coronavirus.
– regarding the coronavirus, a person is considered healthy 48 hours after symptoms have ended. After that, the child may return to the institution.
– children living with a person who has contracted the coronavirus are permitted to attend kindergarten and daycare
– children living with individuals in the risk zone are, as a starting point, permitted to return to their institutions
– cases that involve children in risk groups due to chronic illness will be evaluated individually
Hand hygiene:
– children staff and parents must wash hands when arriving at institutions
– children and staff must wash hands at fixed intervals – at least once every two hours – as well as following toilet use, nose blowing, and before and after eating.
– Staff must wash hands or use hand sanitiser if they move from one area of the institution to another, after diaper/nappy changes and after helping kids blow their noses.
Personal contact:
– Parents are not allowed to congregate at the entrance of the institution. To avoid this, children will be handed over in intervals.
– the same goes for lunch breaks and other planning-orientated activities to avoid many children gathering in bunches.
– larger gatherings, such as morning singing, are to be avoided
– kids are not allowed to play with children from other areas of the institution
– it is recommended that children are divided into smaller groups during playtime and other activities
– activities should occur outside as much as possible
– tables for children must be placed two metres away from each other
– it is recommended that there is at least six sqm of free space per child in daycare insitututuions and four sqm per kid in kindergartens. Those limits are twice the usual recommendations.
Eating:
– all food must be served in portions
– everyone must be particularly vigilant in terms of hygiene when preparing and serving food
– food must not be shared
Cleaning:
– toilets must be cleaned at least twice daily
– all surfaces and points of contact must be washed with liquid soap and then sanitised at least twice daily
– toys must be washed at least twice daily
– no toys may be brought from home
– tablets should be wiped several times every day and between use
Transport:
– public transport must be avoided during trips out of institutions
– when transporting children in buses, the kids must be seated at least two metres from one another