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Updated COVID-19 Guidelines for Child Care Programs
February 7, 2022
This document provides updated guidelines for child care centers and family day homes. This document supersedes previous guidelines issued on October 15, 2021 by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE).
Important Notes
- This document reflects updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).
- Parents are children’s first teachers and are in charge of their children’s health, well-being and education.
- The VDOE strongly recommends that programs use these guidelines to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 at child care centers and family day homes. These guidelines provide discretion so programs can work closely with parents to implement practices that best meet the needs of individual programs and their families.
- Guidelines should be considered “best practice”, are not mandatory, and are not subject to enforcement by the Office of Child Care Health and Safety.
The VDOE will continue to inspect regulated and licensed programs for health and safety requirements based on the Code of Virginia and in regulation (8VAC20-770 through 8VAC20- 850, as appropriate). Exempt programs are subject to inspections as allowed by the Code of Virginia. Licensed and regulated programs are subject to health, sanitation, exclusion, and infection control requirements as described in the appropriate regulation, requirement, or any executive or public health orders.
Guidelines for Child Care Programs (Revised February 7, 2022)
Following public health guidance remains critically important. Child care programs are encouraged to practice multiple prevention strategies because many children in care are not yet eligible for vaccination. At the same time, the benefit of mitigation efforts must always be weighed against the cost to children’s overall well-being. Here are the key guidelines for child care programs in Virginia:
Face Masks (Revised February 7, 2022)
- On January 15, 2022, Governor Youngkin issued Executive Order Number Two (2022) and Order of Public Health Emergency One that rescinded a previous executive order and health order requiring masking of children in public and private school settings. Executive Order 2 (2022) applies when children are enrolled in a school-based program or in a program sponsored by a school, school district, the Department of Education, or any other state entity.
- Child day center and family day home programs that are not attached to or part of a school are not subject to this Executive Order.
- Pursuant to current guidance from the CDC and VDH, VDOE recommends that all staff and children ages two and older wear masks when indoors, regardless of vaccination status, to the extent practicable.
- For staff: mask requirements depend on vaccination status and level of community transmission of COVID-19.
- Providers should review the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) standards to understand which staff are required to wear masks or face coverings.
- Regardless of the level of community transmission of COVID-19, unvaccinated employees and “otherwise at-risk employees (because of a prior transplant or other medical condition)” must wear masks while indoors.
- In areas of “substantial or high community transmission,” vaccinated employees must wear masks while indoors.
- Exceptions to mask requirements in the workplace (for example, when alone in office or when eating/drinking while distanced) are provided in the standards. For more information and exceptions from masking requirements, please visit the DOLI website.
- For children: masks are strongly recommended for children ages 2 and older when indoors, including while on transportation, regardless of vaccination status.
- Face masks should NOT be put on babies and children under age two because of the danger of suffocation. Face masks are NOT recommended for any child who is eating, drinking, sleeping, has trouble breathing, or is unable to remove the cover without assistance.
Physical Distancing and Cohorting
- Programs should facilitate physical distancing indoors while still allowing for the care and developmental needs of children. Programs should generally maintain 3 feet of distance between individuals to the extent practicable and appropriate.
- Practicing cohorting, or placing children and staff into distinct groups that stay together from day to day and limiting mixing between groups, can help limit the spread of COVID-19. To the extent practicable and appropriate, programs should try to keep groups of children together with consistent staff and maintain at least 6 feet between cohorts to limit impact in case of exposure.
COVID-19 Testing and Symptomatic Individuals (Revised February 7, 2022)
Testing staff and children can help reduce outbreaks. VDH has a testing site locator which may be helpful for providing referrals to testing. Note that at-home tests may also be purchased and provided to staff and/or families. Families can also use at- home tests with children as young as two years old; checking product labels is advised. Programs may use testing as a screening tool (i.e., testing individuals regardless of symptoms) or a diagnostic tool (i.e., testing symptomatic individuals or individuals with known close contact to a person with COVID-19). On January 14, 2022, the federal government announced that every home in the U.S. is eligible to order four (4) free at-home COVID-19 tests.
- Notify the local health department and your licensing inspector of outbreaks and report employee COVID-19 cases using VDH online reporting portal. This portal ensures case reports will meet VDH and DOLI reporting compliance.
- Encourage staff and children to stay home when sick and have a plan to isolate children or staff that display symptoms of COVID-19 or other illnesses.
- Facilities are encouraged to contact their local health department for assistance when concerned about a disease situation or when there is an outbreak.
Isolation and Quarantine (Added February 7, 2022)
- The VDH recently adopted the CDC’s updated guidance for shortened isolation and quarantine periods for child care settings. Isolation and quarantine periods can be reduced to five days for staff and children who can consistently wear well-fitting masks, as long as they remain symptom free, or fever has ended and symptoms have improved. For children and staff who are unable to consistently wear a mask when around others (including all children under 2 years of age) the safest option is to continue to remain at home for 10 days, but VDH recognizes that child care providers also have to balance the importance of children’s access to learning and care when implementing prevention strategies for COVID-19. The guidance can be found on the VDH website.
- Note also that all staff and children who are up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines or recently recovered are NOT recommended to quarantine after an exposure if they are able to wear masks and remain symptom-free. Individuals who have not recovered from COVID-19 in the past 3 months should be encouraged to get tested at least 5 days after the close contact with someone with COVID-19.
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Template letters for COVID-19 cases, exposure, and outbreaks can be found in the following document on the VDH website as well as all guidance related to child care and camps.
Vaccinations (Revised February 7, 2022)
- Everyone ages 5 years and older is eligible to receive a free COVID-19 vaccine in Virginia. Vaccines are safe, effective and widely available. All child care staff are encouraged to get vaccinated, especially since children less than 5 years of age are not yet eligible to be vaccinated. Data shows that unvaccinated Virginians account for a majority of those hospitalized or dying from COVID-19. Visit https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/covid-19-vaccine/ for information.
- On January 26, 2022, the federal Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) withdrew the COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing: Emergency Standard issued on November 5, 2021, that required all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis. Though the emergency standard was withdrawn, OSHA is pursuing a proposed rule and continues to strongly encourage vaccination of workers.
DOLI Standards
All providers are encouraged to review the Standards for Infectious Disease Prevention of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus that Causes COVID-19. The DOLI website also provides training materials and other resources.
Family Access to Child Care Facilities
As a reminder, Virginia law states that parents or guardians cannot be prohibited from entering a child care facility when their child is present under Section 22.1-289.054. Providers may recommend or require parents or guardians to maintain a certain distance and/or wear masks while picking up or dropping off their children or visiting the facility.
Additional Resources for Child Care Operations
Programs should contact their assigned licensing inspector or the Office of Child Care Health and Safety in their region with questions.
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