Parents frustrated with kids being sent home because of child care COVID-19 protocols
Parents and child care operators feel exhausted by COVID-19 screening measures that send some kids home multiple times a month.
"It's been really important that we catch cases early," says Kim Yeaman, Children's Services Director at Simcoe Child Care Services in Innisfil. "But it's been a lot of stress for a lot of people."
Children exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, including a cough, fever, nausea, or vomiting, are required to isolate and be tested.
If kids develop symptoms at their child care centre, their parent or guardian gets a call.
Cheryl Peyton, owner of Barrie's Little Start Child Care Centre, says the process is frustrating, with staff recognizing the symptoms could be the result of a slew of other common childhood ailments.
"The last thing we want to do is send children home, but if they show symptoms, we are bound by the regulations set up by the Ministry of Education and the health unit," Peyton says.
Push back from moms and dads has been strong, with some choosing to pull their kids out of child care entirely rather than deal with the uncertainty.
"(It's) making parents take a lot of time off work; retest their children over and over and over again for things that in past times that would have just been a regular cold," says Yeaman.
Amanda Viau's three-year-old daughter has been swabbed for COVID-19 seven times during the pandemic. The tests were triggered by a runny nose, a cough, and diarrhea. Each test came back negative.
"I don't blame it on our daycare at all. We love our daycare. They're just following the rules; I get it. But I feel like there has to be another solution," Viau says.
Peyton believes rapid tests could help alleviate some of the tension around screening.
"It would be amazing to be able to offer parents the option to do rapid tests either at home or at the centre," Peyton says.
The province of Quebec will distribute rapid tests to parents of children in daycare showing symptoms of COVID-19 starting Monday.
Ontario has made rapid tests available to public health units for use in schools and child care at the discretion of medical officers of health. But Queen's Park stresses the tests shouldn't be used for symptomatic kids.
The Ministry of Education is sending school-aged children home with five rapid tests to prevent infected kids from returning to class after the winter break.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Winning $70 million Lotto Max ticket sold in Toronto
A winning Lotto Max ticket was sold in Toronto from last nights draw.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles, bright yellow devices used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to cities across Canada.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Moscow says 50 Ukrainian drones shot down as attacks spark fires at Russian power stations
Ukraine launched a barrage of drones across Russia overnight, the Defence Ministry in Moscow said Saturday, in attacks that appeared to target the country's energy infrastructure.
A Nigerian chess champion plays the royal game for 60 hours - a new global chess record
A Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate played chess nonstop for 60 hours in New York City's Times Square to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.