Some daycare operators say they’re on the brink of collapse, with many having to close for short or extended periods, and with little or no direction from the government department which oversees them.
Gail Sullivan, owner of Happy Times, says they are getting the run-around from the Department of Education, so much so that she’s calling on owners/operators to band together and form an association to act on their behalf.
As an essential service, the health department requires them to close only one week, not so, as the education department has been telling them.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Tom Osborne says he is aware that several childcare centres have had to close due to COVID cases.
He says the closures mirror what’s going on in the community, and haven’t been “alarming.”
However, identified cases have to be handled seriously, resulting in staff, children, and sometimes entire centres closing and isolating.
Meanwhile, Osborne says the rollout of rapid tests to daycares has begun, and centres should receive instructions over the next few days about how to receive them.