Last week, Kanagawa Prefecture issued a notice to 26 municipalities under the jurisdiction of the prefecture's health center not to close the park in principle, saying that the number of medical workers who cannot go to work is increasing due to the closure of nursery schools and other facilities due to the new coronavirus.

According to the prefecture, 16 municipalities, which is 60% of these, have changed to not close this week.

On the 18th of this month, Kanagawa Prefecture will take a break from 26 municipalities under the jurisdiction of the prefecture's health center for the time being, if infection is confirmed in nursery schools, etc. As a general rule, we notified that the entire garden would not be closed.



In addition, since the work of the health center is tight and it is not possible to investigate the close contacts, and there are many cases where the investigation is not completed during the waiting period at home, it is said that the close contacts will not be identified for nursery centers etc. is.



The prefecture says that it has issued this notice, taking seriously the fact that nursery schools are closed one after another and the number of cases where medical staff who leave their children are unable to go to work is increasing.



It is the municipalities that finally decide to close the park, and according to the prefecture's summary, 16 municipalities, which is 60% of the 26 municipalities, have changed to not close in principle from this week.



The remaining 10 municipalities responded that they would continue to take measures to close the park.



On the other hand, regarding the survey of close contacts, nearly half of the 12 local governments answered that they would do it independently, so the response is divided.



In addition, the prefecture has received more than a dozen opinions that complain of anxiety, such as "If you do not close the park, you will not be able to protect your child from infection."

Background of the notification Concerns about the impact on the medical care provision system

There is an analysis that the background of the prefecture's notification is that the number of medical staff who leave their children in the nursery center is increasing and the medical care provision system is affected.



In the past, when an infected person was confirmed in a nursery center, etc., as a general rule, the health center identified a close contact person.



However, due to the rapid increase in infected people, the work of the health center became tight, and it became impossible to investigate close contacts or it took a long time, and there were increasing cases where the entire garden was unavoidably closed.



According to the prefecture, since the middle of last month, more than 100 nursery schools have been closed every day in the prefecture, and on February 11th, the number reached 550.



In addition, the number of medical staff such as doctors and nurses who take time off from work due to their own close contacts or the nursery school is closed began to increase from the middle of last month, and 2000 people are accepted every day at hospitals accepting corona patients. The above is what seems to be absent from work.



The prefecture has decided to issue this notice, saying that the medical care provision system is being affected, such as being unable to accept patients even though there are beds due to labor shortages.

Governor Kuroiwa "The final response is the judgment of the municipality"

Governor Kuroiwa said that he had issued a notice requesting that the nursery school not be closed in principle. There is no doubt that it is the choice of Omicron strain, which has the characteristic that young people are less likely to become seriously ill, so it is necessary to avoid situations where excessive fear causes the society to stop or the medical treatment collapses. That's it. "



On top of that, the municipalities will decide the final response, saying, "The prefecture is just telling us that there are such choices to prevent medical collapse, but we are not compulsory. What to do actually depends on the actual situation of the region. I want you to understand it because it is left to the judgment of the municipality. "

In Hiratsuka City, change to "Do not close" by notification of the prefecture

In response to the notification from the prefecture, Hiratsuka City has decided not to close the nursery school from this week in principle.



In Hiratsuka City, after the beginning of the year when the infection spread, the work of the health center became so tight that it was not possible to investigate close contacts, so if even one person was confirmed to be infected at a nursery school, the entire garden was closed for 7 days. ..



According to the city, there are a total of 64 facilities that have been closed by last week since entering the park.



However, after receiving the notification from the prefecture, we decided not to close the park in principle, and there are no facilities closed this week.



On the other hand, we notified nursery centers and others to refrain from going to the kindergarten as much as possible because there is a risk that the infection will spread if we continue the kindergarten without identifying close contacts.



However, due to a sudden change in policy, there were a series of inquiries from the nursery center, and the person in charge was busy responding to phone calls from the nursery center where a newly infected person was confirmed.



Yoshimasa Sekino, the childcare manager of the Hiratsuka City Childcare Division, said, "In order to protect children, Hiratsuka City has taken measures to completely close the park, but to continue working as an essential worker, we decided to steer with a painful decision. I had no choice but to cut it off. In the future, I would like to follow up to see if this has caused the spread of infection. "

Following the policy change, parents of the nursery school expressed both welcome and anxiety.



One of the mothers who came to pick up the child said, "Honestly, it is a burden for working mothers to be closed. I am worried if it may become serious, but if not, I think that I have to go out with them." I was talking.



On the other hand, another mother said, "I'm in trouble because my salary decreases when I take a break from work, but I'm worried whether it's really okay if only the child with symptoms takes a break, so it's safer to take a break." ..



Kazuyo Suzuki, director of "Omachi Nursery School," said, "I am very worried that the infection will not spread because there are cases where I am asymptomatic even if I am infected. I think it was. "

In Yokohama City, the nursery school and the city judge by a dedicated checklist

In Yokohama City, which operates the health center itself and decides how to deal with it, the nursery center and the city, not the health center, try to avoid closing the park as much as possible while ensuring the peace of mind of parents, etc., based on the checklist dedicated to the city. From this month, we started our own measures to determine "people who may be infected".



It is a nursery school "Nursery Yokohama Portside" in Kanagawa Ward, Yokohama City.



Since last month when the infection spread at this nursery center, there have been two cases where children have become positive.



The first time, the health center investigated the close contacts, but it took a long time due to the tight work, and in the end, the garden was closed for 10 days.



On the other hand, the second time this month, after the measures were introduced, based on the checklist prepared by the city, "people who may be infected" are selected based on whether the garden wears a mask and the degree of contact with positive people. identification.



After consulting with the city, one class was closed, where infected and potentially infected people were concentrated, but other children were asked to attend the park as needed.



Director Masako Yamaguchi said, "When I sent the list to the city, in less than an hour, I got an answer as to who was the so-called close contact, so it was really helpful. Even from parents who have difficulty taking a rest suddenly. , I've heard that it was very helpful to know immediately if I needed to rest my child. "



Yokohama City has a dedicated telephone to receive consultations from nursery schools.



We receive consultations from about 70 gardens a day, but more than 60% of the gardens are closed for one to two days.



In addition, we are proceeding with the operation while making improvements, such as creating a city-specific document for parents of children who have become "potentially infected people" to submit to the workplace.



Masafumi Furuishi, chief of the Yokohama City Childcare and Education Management Division, said, "Some people want to take a day off from work because of concerns about infection, but some people can't, so I'd like to continue while considering both sides." I was there.