What happens to a nursery school in an emergency declaration? 19:20 on April 9 when the local government responds

In response to the declaration of emergency, the government requested that the number of daycare centers be reduced, while interviewing 62 municipalities in Tokyo for "approved nursery schools", 46 municipalities asked parents to refrain from attending kindergartens However, the response was divided by local governments, such as "in principle, closed" in 12 local governments.

Most requests for self-restraint

NHK interviewed 62 municipalities in Tokyo about the response of "approved nursery schools". As a result, as of the 9th, the highest number of “self-restraining requests” for daycare was 46 municipalities, followed by 12 municipalities with “in principle closed”, 2 municipalities with “same as during normal times”, and 2 municipalities with “under consideration”. I knew that I was separated.

Flexible support for "closed in principle"

However, even in 12 municipalities that have set a principle of “closed”, if it is difficult for parents to take care of their children, they will continue to take care of their children at daycare centers.

In that case, most municipalities open a nursery school that they usually go to and keep their children, but in Shibuya Ward, they open only eight nursery schools in the ward to collect and respond to children.

Keeping the child is a parent's occupation

Local governments also differ in what kind of household they use to keep their children in daycare centers.

While some municipalities limit the occupation of parents to those required for maintaining social functions such as healthcare professionals, police, firefighting, and infrastructure, while in Sumida Ward, for example, `` Parents of all households continue to work. In some cases, Bunkyo Ward does not restrict occupation types, such as "In principle, if a guardian offers a request regardless of occupation type, we will accept it."

A compelling voice from parents

According to local government officials, parents say there is a compelling voice saying, `` I can't go to the company so I'd like to keep some children, '' while others said, `` I want to take a break from my company and take care of my child at home. I want you to take a clear response. "

In addition, since there is no uniform standard for judging whether to close the park or self-restraint, the response is divided according to the local government, so parents have asked about why the response differs in the area where they live in the same city. Some municipalities are having difficulty.

Some voices of confusion from childcare sites

At the childcare sites, the standards for accepting children given by the government are ambiguous, and there is some confusion about the decision being left to each nursery school.

Of these, at Oyamadai Nursery School in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, we ask for childcare at home as much as possible based on the policy indicated by the ward that "families who can take a break from work should refrain from climbing up."

To prevent infection in the park, we have to reduce the number of children to keep, but parents said, "I work at home, but I can't balance care for my child and work, so I want you to keep it." Some say that they are struggling to respond.

Some say, "I'm worried about infection because there are so many children in the park," and "If you want to take care of your child at home to reduce the risk of infection, you need to take the nursery out of school. I can't take a break. I want you to set a firm standard. "

A man who sent his 2-year-old daughter to a nursery school said, “I work from home, but I decided to take a break from the nursery school next week. It is hard to see, but I would like to cooperate. "

Mr. Takuro Toyama said, “There is no specific policy from the ward to accept any kind of people, so we are asking their parents to cooperate here. Some people will not be able to leave the school, and it will be difficult to maintain a nursery system as it is.If you take a leave of absence, I want you to come up with a policy and reach people who really need childcare. I really want you to show the standards you have done. "

Various voices on the Internet

In response to the spread of the new coronavirus, various voices have been raised on the Internet about leaving children in nursery schools.

The SNS states, "Taking care of children is a concern for both children and nursery teachers amid the high risk of infection. Please take care of the nursery school." "Kindergartens and nursery schools are completely dense. Some people are worried about the risk of infection.

On the other hand, some respondents have been worried about the impact on work, such as "I understand that it is inevitable, but I understand that understanding of working at home is low" in response to movements to take holidays and refrain from using the service.