Details are starting to emerge about what child-care centres will look like once they are permitted to reopen.

The Ford government announced on Tuesday that it would permit all child-care centres to reopen as of June 12 so long as they follow a number of new policies intended to limit the spread of COVID-19, including a cap of 10 people in each defined space.

At the time, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said that the new regulations would look a lot like the ones governing the operation of temporary child-care centres for frontline workers but he provided few specific details about what parents could expect.

That has since changed with the release of a 20-page Ministry of Education document that includes dozens of specific regulations that centres will now be expected to abide by.

The document says that all individuals entering the centre, including parents and children, will be greeted by caregivers behind a plexiglass barrier who will conduct a symptom and temperature check before letting them.

It also says that “as much as possible, parents should not go past the screening area” and that centres should “develop procedures that support physical distancing,” such as staggered entrance times.

There are also a number of regulations pertaining to the use of toys and other equipment.

The guidelines say that centres should avoid all toys that can’t be regularly disinfected, such as stuffed animals.

They also say that while toys can be shared between children they must, at a minimum, be cleaned and disinfected before they are used by another group.

Centres will also be encouraged to plan activities that “do not involve shared objects or toys” as much possible and to avoid any singing activities indoors amid fears that it could hasten the spread of the virus.

There are also numerous rules around food, including one stipulating that “where possible, children should practice physical distancing while eating.”

Providers are also expected to “ensure there is no self-serve or sharing of food at meal times.”

“Meals should be served in individual portions to the children,” one of the guidelines warns. “There should be no items shared (i.e., serving spoon or salt shaker).”

Staff handing toddlers instructed to use blankets or cloths

The ministry says in the guidelines that it does recognize that physical distancing between children in a child care setting is “difficult” and concedes that staff must “maintain a welcoming and caring environment for children.”

But, at the same time, it proposes numerous precautions that should be taken when interacting closely with children.

For example, staff are being instructed to " use blankets or cloths over clothing” when holding infants and toddlers and will be expected to “change the blankets or cloths between children.”

The ministry is also urging centres to consider “spreading children out into different areas, particularly at meal and dressing time” and is asking them to incorporate “more individual activities or activities that encourage more space between children.”

“When setting up the play space, physical distancing of at least two metres must be maintained between cohorts and should be encouraged, where possible, between children within the same cohort,” the guidelines state.

Lecce has said that his ministry will be conducting inspections and any centre found in violation of the new guidelines could be fined up to $3,000 per attending child per day.

Here are some of the other key details that you need to be aware of:

  • There should be no non-essential visitors to the facility and video and telephone interviews should be used to interact with families where possible
  • Providers are being encouraged to increase the distance between cots and resting mats
  • In shared outdoor space, there must be a distance of at least 2 metres between groups and play structures can only be used by one group at a time
  • All child care facilities are responsible for maintaining daily records of anyone entering the facility/home and the approximate length of their stay for the purpose of contact tracing
  • Facilities must give parents 30 days to indicate whether they want to keep their space. After the 30 days, payments would be required to secure the space.