As of the 28th of last month, there were 101 nursery schools and children's centers nationwide that were completely closed due to the infection of children and staff with the new coronavirus.
Due to the spread of measures such as closing some classes without closing the whole park as much as possible, the ``6th wave'', which closed more than 700 places at maximum, has decreased from February this year. However, the site is being chased by the response as the infection spreads to the staff.
According to a summary by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, as of the 28th of last month, there were 101 nursery schools and children's centers in 33 prefectures where children and staff were infected with the new coronavirus and were completely closed.
At the end of June, the number of cases was about 10, but in July, the number began to increase, and the number of cases exceeded 100 for the first time in the "seventh wave."
Compared to the ``6th wave'' period when up to 700 schools were closed in February this year, the number has decreased, and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has closed only some classes instead of the entire school. , It is said that the background is that flexible measures are spreading to continue childcare, such as having only children who have close contact refrain from attending kindergarten.
Some gardens are forced to respond to the last minute
As the number of staff who cannot go to work due to the new coronavirus is increasing at childcare sites, some places are being forced to take last-minute measures, such as receiving support from other nurseries.
At a company that operates nine nursery schools in Saitama Prefecture, the number of infections began to increase around the middle of last month, and up to 16 out of about 140 employees were either infected or became close contacts and were absent from work. It means that
The infection of children has also spread, and on the 30th of last month, an infected person appeared in a 0- to 1-year-old class at a nursery school in Kawaguchi City, and 20 out of 25 children became close contacts and could not go to kindergarten. rice field.
There are a number of cases where the children of the staff are infected and cannot go to work for nursing care, and in order to make up for the shortage of staff, depending on the day, support staff are dispatched from affiliated kindergartens to respond.
Chikako Tsuji, director of "Formother Nursery School", said, "We have reached the limit of the number of staff, and if a few more people test positive, we will have to consider closing the nursery. It is possible that the number of infections in the nursery will increase further in the future. I am very worried because I am sexually active,” he said.