After-school care reopens.

After-school care reopens.

From next Monday 19 April the after-school care (BSO) will reopen. The same rules as in schools apply. This means that a whole class or group goes into quarantine in case of infection. Acting Prime Minister Rutte and Minister De Jonge announced it during the press conference.

“We cannot erase the numbers. People in healthcare are exhausted. In families the tension is rising. The point is: we all have our own corona reality. And it is hard to combine these. Fortunately the reality is positive, that the end is in sight. That society can open again. With small steps at first and bigger ones as more people get vaccinated,” said Acting Prime Minister Rutte on Tuesday evening.

BSO

Recently the after-school care was only open for children with a difficult home situation or parents with a crucial job. Primary schools and childcare had already opened earlier.

Rules

The following rules apply, among others:

• Only staff members keep one and a half meters distance among themselves and between staff and parents. This is not needed for children.
• Children who have been in close contact with someone infected with coronavirus must quarantine at home. This also applies to children of parents with crucial jobs. Quarantine lasts 10 days. This is counted from the last time they were close to the infected person. Children can get tested after 5 days. This is voluntary. If the test is negative they may leave quarantine and go back to school. Children who do not get tested may leave quarantine after 10 days if they have no symptoms.
• Children aged 0-4 years may go to childcare with cold symptoms (runny nose, nasal cold, sneezing, and/or sore throat) or known hay fever complaints, except:
  • if the child has other corona symptoms like: fever, breathing problems, cough, or sudden loss of smell and/or taste;
  • if they are a housemate of a person with a positive corona test;
  • if someone in the child’s household has both corona symptoms and fever and/or breathing problems;
• Children aged 4-12 years can be tested for corona symptoms, including cold symptoms (such as runny nose, nasal cold, sneezing and sore throat). This is not needed if they sometimes cough or have known chronic airway complaints, asthma or hay fever without fever and breathing problems.
• To decide if a (cold) child may go to childcare/school, parent association BOinK made a decision tree.
• Additional measures are taken to limit mixing between different children and staff in the after-school care as much as possible.
• Maximum one parent may pick up or drop off. The pick-up and drop-off times are arranged so that adults can keep one and a half meters distance.

Response

In a response to RTV Utrecht Lobke Vlaming, director of Ouders & Onderwijs says she is happy with the opening of the after-school care. “Parents were still often stuck. The after-school care seemed forgotten when schools and childcare opened because most problems were solved. But for many parents it is still hard to work full days,” she explains. Ouders & Onderwijs still has some questions. “What will happen if a child gets corona? Many children from different classes are in the after-school care, does everyone need to quarantine? We have no answers yet to these questions.” Read the full article from RTV Utrecht.

More information

Do you have questions? Call our advice point on weekdays at 088-6050101.