One of the questions I keep getting asked both via email and in clinic is "Should my child go back to daycare or kinder?"
Now, with the recent relaxation of Victoria's lockdown laws, some people assume this means we are in the clear and can go back to life as we knew it. This is simply not true. Getting careless now as a community risks a second wave of COVID cases, which potentially will lead to another escalation in lockdown from the Victorian government. Despite Australia as a whole doing a fantastic job of "Flattening the curve", Victoria continues to have one of the higher rates of community transmission amongst Australian states and territories. The concern being that, compared to our fellow Australians in other states, we remain at higher risk of a spike of community transmission given that a higher proportion of our cases are not coming from returned travellers.
At this time, the advice from the Department of Health remains the same as when the lockdown began. This means that you can continue to take your little ones to daycare and kinder as required. If you are concerned that your little one has a medical condition that puts them at risk, or have a household member who is in a vulnerable group (be it immune suppressed, pregnant or with an existing respiratory condition like asthma) then a conversation with your usual GP is probably worth having about your specific circumstances. The other scenario where you should probably rethink your circumstance is if there has been a confirmed case of COVID disease within the facility concerned, or if a child or staff member at the facility is a close contact with a confirmed case.
In my household, we are still sending our little one off to daycare on the days when my wife and I are at work (we are both essential workers) and we've chosen to keep her home on the days when one of us is home.
I hope that’s been even a little bit helpful. If you have any questions you want answered about COVID or about your health in general please let me know - shoot me an email at ask@drmoz.com.au as I'd love to hear from you.
In the meantime - stay safe
PS.
- To check out how your state compares with the number of cases and how they were contracted click here.
- To see the advice direct from the DHHS website about daycare and kinder click here
- For an information sheet on the definition of a vulnerable Australians click here
- For definitions of a close contact click here
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