SUSSEX COUNTY, Del. - Daycares in Delaware are taking extra precautions to keep kids, parents, and staff healthy in the midst of COVID-19. Daycares are typically controlled environments, which helps prevent the virus from spreading.
Daycares explained they are going the extra mile when it comes to hygiene. Lullaby Learning Center and Lighthouse on the Shore Learning Center are constantly sanitizing toys and surfaces, washing hands frequently, and offering hand-sanitizer at entrances of the buildings.
"We really feel like with social distancing and the procedures and policies we've put in place ... that we're going to stay healthy," says Sherry Gebbia, owner of Lullaby Learning Center.
As for new procedures, both daycares are limiting the amount of people that can drop-off and pick-up, and Lullaby is limiting older siblings in classrooms. Controlling who comes in the building lessens the children and staff's exposure.
With school closures, Lullaby had slightly lower enrollment than they typically do, and things have remained normal at Lighthouse for now, but things could change with time.
"We are just really trying to emphasize that it's not even the daycare being open that's the problem, its the community members really practicing those preventative measures to keep things from spreading," says Kim Sliben, Director at Lullaby Learning Center.
The Delaware Division of Public Health does not recommend closing non-public school child care facilities at this time, so day care owners are hoping to stay open as long as they can.
"We are definitely going to stay open until the governor says hey you guys have no other choice but to close down," says Tecola Gibbs-Hernandez, owner of Lighthouse on the Shore.
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) Secretary Dr. Kara Odom Walker says, “Children appear to be less vulnerable to this virus and based upon the science we have now, it does not indicate that closing child care facilities will help in reducing the spread of COVID-19.”
"We are hoping we don't have to close because we are concerned about the parents,. We know the parents have to work and we want to provide a good safe environment ... We are also making sure that they're safe, and their children are safe," says Gibbs-Hernandez.
Both Lullaby and Lighthouse on the Shore are emphasizing that if a parent or child is sick, to please stay home.