Society

Gov't to help arrange substitute nurseries after COVID closures

Feb 09 (Japan Today) - The Japanese government will provide financial support to help local governments arrange substitute facilities to look after children if their nurseries close due to coronavirus infections, the health ministry said Tuesday.

The ministry will introduce an exception to regular rules so community centers and children's centers will be allowed to accept children from nurseries even when there are not enough licensed carers for the number of children they look after, according to a set of new COVID-19 measures announced by the ministry.

Given the recent spread of the highly-transmissible Omicron variant at nurseries, the ministry also temporarily recommends children at nurseries to wear facial masks when possible, although it does not unilaterally require them to do so or recommend it for those aged under 2.

The changes come as a record high 777 nurseries approved by municipal governments in 43 of Japan's 47 prefectures were closed as of Tuesday, up 133 from the previous week. While the ministry urges nurseries to stay open in principle even amid the pandemic, it is up to local governments to decide whether to temporarily close them when children and staff are infected with the virus. ...continue reading

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