Daycares in Nunavut reopen this month under strict guidelines

Licensed daycares in Nunavut were allowed to reopen earlier this month provided that they follow strict protocols, after closing on March 17 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

According to David Joanasie, Nunavut’s education minister, 16 facilities have opened so far. From June 8 to June 12, two more facilities are set to open, with another two opening later in June, according to Joanasie.

“We’re providing daycares their own pace to open up their facilities,” Joanasie said at a news conference on May 25.

With COVID-19 still a threat, facilities in the territory must also follow new guidelines set out by the chief public health officer. For example, infant and pre-school groups must be put into separate groups in the facilities, with a staff member assigned to each group.

Daycares must also reduce their hours of care to ensure that a minimum of 1.5 hours each day is dedicated to cleaning and disinfecting all surfaces in the facility. This cleaning is mandatory, according to the Department of Education.

Facilities also need to arrange a “deep cleaning” prior to opening, the guidelines state.

Kyla King, the executive director of First Steps Daycare in Iqaluit, which reopened on June 4, said their facility is only open from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. for now to allow time for cleaning.

“There’s a really extensive cleaning list that we need to do on a daily basis to prepare us to open the following day,” King said.

That cleaning list, which is part of the mandatory minimum 1.5 hours of cleaning, includes things like washing walls to halfway up, cleaning restrooms and wiping down all high-touch surfaces.

“In order to get that done and do it properly, we will have the staff be with the children in the morning and then … it will take most of the better part of the afternoon to do most of the extensive cleaning,” King said.

Kakayak Daycare in Cambridge Bay, which reopened on June 1 at regular capacity, sent a notice to parents asking them to pick up their children by 5:30 p.m. so staff can complete the mandatory cleaning.

Daycares also need to develop a pickup and drop-off process that meets physical distancing requirements. That means only one parent or guardian can drop off and pick up a child, and no other children except those attending daycare can enter the facility, the guidelines state.

At Kakayak, a schedule for pickups and drop-offs has been arranged to avoid any overlap, the notice to parents said.

In Nunavut’s reopening plan that was released on May 25, Dr. Michael Patterson, the territory’s chief public health officer, listed daycares in the “low risk” category of reopening measures.

“The best of our understanding right now is that the older you get, the more likely you are to catch and transmit COVID-19 and the more likely you are to have serious consequences from it,” Patterson said at the time.

King said some staff and parents are concerned about daycares reopening during the pandemic. Some parents have chosen not to put their children back in daycare, she said.

“I think that reopening has to start somewhere. And with not having a case of COVID here, we need to move forward,” King said.

King also said the facility is now doing a “curbside drop-off,” where parents and guardians drop off their children at the facility’s driveway.

“The parents are not allowed in our centre,” King said.

Despite some parents choosing not to send their children back to the daycare, King said parents have been very understanding as the facility prepared to reopen.

“Just understanding, patience and cooperation is needed at this time until we figure out what the new normal is going to look like,” King said.

“We won’t be going back to how things were for quite a while, I don’t think.”

If COVID-19 enters a community, facilities in that community should be prepared to close immediately, the guidelines state.

Daycares in Nunavik are also set to reopen next week, according to the Kativik Regional Government.