Covid at daycare/preschool - outdated policies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Apparently Massachusetts just said asymptomatic kids with an exposure can attend daycare--no more quarantine for kids without symptoms! So that's progress. Hopefully Maryland and Montgomery county will follow soon.

Can you share where you found this?

[Anonymous]

I have a number of family and friends in MA and overall the way the state has approached school and childcare has been more reasonable throughout the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Apparently Massachusetts just said asymptomatic kids with an exposure can attend daycare--no more quarantine for kids without symptoms! So that's progress. Hopefully Maryland and Montgomery county will follow soon.

So COVID positive kids, as long as they are asymptomatic, can go to daycare?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently Massachusetts just said asymptomatic kids with an exposure can attend daycare--no more quarantine for kids without symptoms! So that's progress. Hopefully Maryland and Montgomery county will follow soon.

So COVID positive kids, as long as they are asymptomatic, can go to daycare?

Just don’t test and you won’t know they’re positive😁. Who is testing asymptomatic anyway? Just stop

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently Massachusetts just said asymptomatic kids with an exposure can attend daycare--no more quarantine for kids without symptoms! So that's progress. Hopefully Maryland and Montgomery county will follow soon.

So COVID positive kids, as long as they are asymptomatic, can go to daycare?

DP what? The PP said kids with an exposure, not kids with a positive COVID case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently Massachusetts just said asymptomatic kids with an exposure can attend daycare--no more quarantine for kids without symptoms! So that's progress. Hopefully Maryland and Montgomery county will follow soon.

So COVID positive kids, as long as they are asymptomatic, can go to daycare?

NO! Asymptomatic EXPOSED children can still attend. Not asymptomatic positive children.

[Anonymous]

We just ended up with what is essentially back-to-back closures. The daycare center was open for a week before we closed again due to an exposure, even with a test to return protocol from the long weekend. My lo is under 2 so it’s a mandatory 10 quarantine with no test to return option per DC guidance. He got Covid from daycare in January. We had him tested twice during the last closure and he was negative both times. We have no family in the area, and while our jobs have been understanding, there are limits.

I feel like I’m screaming into a void. I’ve received no responses from DC government and our center’s hands are tied under the city’s guidance. We can’t afford a nanny or nanny share. I’m just so spent emotionally. Thinking we may have to do this for another almost year til he turns 2 is breaking me. I cried when his center called to notify us this time. This is not a sustainable plan, but no one wants to listen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently Massachusetts just said asymptomatic kids with an exposure can attend daycare--no more quarantine for kids without symptoms! So that's progress. Hopefully Maryland and Montgomery county will follow soon.

So COVID positive kids, as long as they are asymptomatic, can go to daycare?

Just don’t test and you won’t know they’re positive😁. Who is testing asymptomatic anyway? Just stop

I think there is a balance between extreme policies of 10 day classroom shutdowns for exposure and ignoring COVID completely. If I was in charge, asymptomatic exposure should test on day 5 (and optionally before that), then only test for symptoms otherwise. For symptoms (exposure or not), either get a PCR when symptoms start then allow the kid to return, or retest 2-3 days later if the test was a rapid (but allow kid in school after a negative rapid).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently Massachusetts just said asymptomatic kids with an exposure can attend daycare--no more quarantine for kids without symptoms! So that's progress. Hopefully Maryland and Montgomery county will follow soon.

Can you share where you found this?

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-isolation-and-quarantine-guidance-for-children-in-child-care-k-12-out-of-school-time-ost-and-recreational-campprogram-settings

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently Massachusetts just said asymptomatic kids with an exposure can attend daycare--no more quarantine for kids without symptoms! So that's progress. Hopefully Maryland and Montgomery county will follow soon.

So COVID positive kids, as long as they are asymptomatic, can go to daycare?

Just don’t test and you won’t know they’re positive😁. Who is testing asymptomatic anyway? Just stop

I think there is a balance between extreme policies of 10 day classroom shutdowns for exposure and ignoring COVID completely. If I was in charge, asymptomatic exposure should test on day 5 (and optionally before that), then only test for symptoms otherwise. For symptoms (exposure or not), either get a PCR when symptoms start then allow the kid to return, or retest 2-3 days later if the test was a rapid (but allow kid in school after a negative rapid).

I get what you’re saying, but that’s not consistent with what the local health departments are saying. So as long as they continue their extreme policies, parents are going to have to work around it. And that’s going to mean simply not testing, since the impact of a positive test is so extreme for both your own child and all the other children in their room.

Don't test, don't tell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Apparently Massachusetts just said asymptomatic kids with an exposure can attend daycare--no more quarantine for kids without symptoms! So that's progress. Hopefully Maryland and Montgomery county will follow soon.

The state says that’s fine. It’s only the county health department standing in the way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just ended up with what is essentially back-to-back closures. The daycare center was open for a week before we closed again due to an exposure, even with a test to return protocol from the long weekend. My lo is under 2 so it’s a mandatory 10 quarantine with no test to return option per DC guidance. He got Covid from daycare in January. We had him tested twice during the last closure and he was negative both times. We have no family in the area, and while our jobs have been understanding, there are limits.

I feel like I’m screaming into a void. I’ve received no responses from DC government and our center’s hands are tied under the city’s guidance. We can’t afford a nanny or nanny share. I’m just so spent emotionally. Thinking we may have to do this for another almost year til he turns 2 is breaking me. I cried when his center called to notify us this time. This is not a sustainable plan, but no one wants to listen.

Just want to say I'm right there with you. It's SO difficult...no advice, just commiseration. Hang in there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are at a daycare center in NoVA. Daycare’s policy is to shut down a classroom for 10 days upon a confirmed positive case (either student or staff) in that room. Policy is dictated by the county health department. Our daycare doesn’t require masks for children under 5, and there’s no test to stay option.
We just completed our 6th shutdown since Nov 2020 between my 2 kids. Each shutdown has been due to a positive staff member. None of those cases resulted in further spread within the school. That’s 60 days’ worth of juggling childcare and work between my DH and myself, cobbling together a mixture of leave, WFH, working late at night, etc. it is untenable.
Meanwhile, we had an RSV outbreak in both the infant and toddler classrooms last summer, yet no classroom shutdown was required.

This. Parents with kids under 5 are really struggling and it seems like everyone else is oblivious to this fact because the policies and procedures for EVERY other age group have been updated.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a future study that shows huge economic impacts for these parents— it is negatively impacting the work life balance for this cohort of parents and will have lots of negative outcomes in terms of earning potential - some parents will be forced to leave workforce, many others will lose out on promotions /advancement opportunities as they are unable to compete with workers who don’t have to unexpectedly take week upon week of vacation time. I am really scared for my own family- we have two kids and have had at least 5 multi week shutdowns between the two of them over the past year… this is not good for our professional life and puts our family at a huge disadvantage.

Young children are proven to have practically zero chance of negative health outcomes but they are being impacted negatively in a multitude of other ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:in arlington there is no quarantine, it is test to stay. has there been any study/comparison of how these different policies actually affect covid transmission and whether there is utility in one over another?

Not for the age group who is unable to mask- anyone under 2 still has to quarantine for 10 full days when considered a close contact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at a daycare center in NoVA. Daycare’s policy is to shut down a classroom for 10 days upon a confirmed positive case (either student or staff) in that room. Policy is dictated by the county health department. Our daycare doesn’t require masks for children under 5, and there’s no test to stay option.
We just completed our 6th shutdown since Nov 2020 between my 2 kids. Each shutdown has been due to a positive staff member. None of those cases resulted in further spread within the school. That’s 60 days’ worth of juggling childcare and work between my DH and myself, cobbling together a mixture of leave, WFH, working late at night, etc. it is untenable.
Meanwhile, we had an RSV outbreak in both the infant and toddler classrooms last summer, yet no classroom shutdown was required.

This. Parents with kids under 5 are really struggling and it seems like everyone else is oblivious to this fact because the policies and procedures for EVERY other age group have been updated.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a future study that shows huge economic impacts for these parents— it is negatively impacting the work life balance for this cohort of parents and will have lots of negative outcomes in terms of earning potential - some parents will be forced to leave workforce, many others will lose out on promotions /advancement opportunities as they are unable to compete with workers who don’t have to unexpectedly take week upon week of vacation time. I am really scared for my own family- we have two kids and have had at least 5 multi week shutdowns between the two of them over the past year… this is not good for our professional life and puts our family at a huge disadvantage.

Young children are proven to have practically zero chance of negative health outcomes but they are being impacted negatively in a multitude of other ways.

+1 Our family was home most of the month of May because DD was quarantined for 5 days, then caught COVID from a non-quarantined child when she was back for 3 days, then we got COVID 5 days later. It was exhausting because nobody can cover for me or DH at our jobs so we were still working, though we're fortunate to be able to work from home. It would be so much harder with two kids. As it is I feel overwhelmed, behind and not great about myself with regards to my job.

The sad thing was I was glad DD got COVID because I knew the quarantines could be neverending. At least she is exempt for 90 days.

The CDC just doubled down on 10 day quarantines for unvaccinated kids, no idea what our daycare will do with that, but it just feels so obvious at this point that this has always been about making sure there is an incentive for parents to vaccinate their kids, with absolutely ZERO regard for the impact of this on families while we're waiting for the vaccine to become available. I've come out of this with a DEEP hatred of our public health authorities. These people do not have young children and they absolutely SUCK.