Dresden. These are challenging times for families. Schools are tight, as are daycare centers. Open end. However, some of the Dresden children are entitled to emergency care. Who is allowed to go to daycare despite lockdowns, how many families use it, and whether all other parents get their daycare fees reimbursed – these are the most important questions and answers on the topic.
How did the emergency care start in the daycare centers in Dresden?
At the city daycare centers alone, around 1,600 children were cared for on Monday, the first tough lockdown day, including around 550 in after-school care. Usually there are 16 times as many, said the city council. The daycare centers are required to open at the usual times in order to enable the parents, who work in the so-called critical infrastructure, to do the job in full.
The independent organizations are no exception: At the German Red Cross (DRK), which operates four daycare centers in Dresden, all facilities are open for emergency care at the usual times, according to a spokeswoman. The same generally applies to the two Johanniter houses, with two groups in the Laubegaster daycare center “Jona” currently affected by a corona infection, a spokesman said on request. The health department there has ordered a quarantine for 26 people.
Who is entitled to emergency care?
The state government has determined which people in the Free State should definitely work instead of having to look after their children at home. People in professions that are now urgently needed in the Corona crisis. These are, for example, doctors, nurses, police officers and firefighters, but also tram drivers, bank employees and salesmen. Undertakers have also been added to the list, as Minister of Social Affairs Petra Köpping (SPD) announced on Tuesday.
The complete industry list for critical infrastructure can be found here. Parents have to prove their right to emergency care with an employer confirmation. The form is available here.
As a rule, only children are looked after if and as long as both parents or the single parent work in an area of the critical infrastructure. It is only sufficient for individual professional groups if only one parent works there and care cannot be guaranteed by the other parent. These include police officers and doctors. The state capital has set up a service hotline on 0351 4885111 for questions about emergency care. The employees can be reached there from Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
How long is there still emergency care and how does it work over the holidays?
For the time being, the Corona Protection Ordinance applies until January 10, and thus also the emergency care in the Dresden day-care centers. It will continue to run over the turn of the year. However, the municipal daycare centers and after-school care centers are regularly closed from December 24th to January 1st inclusive. The city is sticking to that. Only the day care center on Schnorrstraße in Südvorstadt offers care between Christmas and New Year, as every year.
How are children protected from infections in daycare?
In fact, there is still a risk that children will be infected in daycare, although they now have significantly less contact with other children there. In order to minimize the risk, the children are looked after in fixed groups with the same educators and in fixed rooms. “The meeting of children from different groups and the associated staff in the buildings and on the open spaces of the day-care centers should be avoided,” said the city administration. Care for children from different groups, as was customary early in the morning or in the late afternoon until lockdown, can therefore no longer be offered with immediate effect.
Are the educators obliged to provide emergency care?
At the Dresden DRK, for example, educators who belong to a risk group can be released or take up an activity within the administration. “The decision is the responsibility of the institutions,” said the DRK spokeswoman. In general, of course, significantly less staff is required than last week. In purely mathematical terms, each institution in Dresden looked after an average of four children on Monday.
Do parents get their daycare fees back if they are not entitled to emergency care?
That has not yet been clarified. The decision is made in coordination with the cities and municipalities, according to the DRK. The city administration in turn refers to the Saxon Ministry of Culture. There, a spokeswoman said only briefly when asked by the SZ: “There is no decision on this yet.” At the first lockdown in the spring, the municipalities reimbursed the contributions or did not ask for any if no emergency care was used. Municipalities and the Free State divided the failure costs.
More information on www.dresden.de/corona-kita
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