January 20, 2021

Burnaby — Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care, has released the following statement on the new COVID-19 guidance for child care settings from the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), which was recently provided to the sector:

“COVID-19 continues to challenge us all, and we recognize that the child care sector is working hard to keep children and families safe during these difficult times. I cannot thank child care professionals enough for the hard work, sacrifice and dedication they continue to make in keeping the children and staff at their centres healthy during these difficult times.

“We also know that they have been looking for public-health guidance about how best to address concerns related to the Omicron variant. As the situation continues to evolve, we are committed to providing updated information as it becomes available.

“The COVID-19 Public Health Guidance for Child Care Settings were updated by the BCCDC on Jan. 19, 2022. The updated guidance was sent to the child care providers via email yesterday evening.

“To provide greater clarity to the sector, the ministry will host a virtual discussion with Dr. Bonnie Henry and a panel of public-health professionals, who will address questions that have arisen from child care providers and parents. The information session will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022, and will enable parents and child care providers to hear directly from public-health officials.

“I know this has been a challenging time for parents and those working in the child care sector. We will continue to work to address your questions and concerns and share information with you as it becomes available from public health. We encourage parents and child care professionals to join us for the discussion next week. Information will be posted on our child care website.”

Learn More:

For more information on COVID-19 Public Health Guidance for Child Care Settings, visit:
http://www.bccdc.ca/Health-Info-Site/Documents/COVID_public_guidance/Guidance_Child_Care.pdf

For more on the information session and Childcare BC, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare