Japan Govt. Asks Childcare Centers To Stay Open
Japan's welfare ministry has asked local authorities to keep childcare facilities open while schools nationwide are closed amid the spread of the new coronavirus.
The request came on Thursday after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a plan earlier in the day to effectively ask all elementary, junior high, and senior high schools as well as special-needs schools across the country to start their spring holidays on Monday. The holiday period usually ends in early April.
The ministry says the government needs a different approach to childcare institutions, such as after-school daycare programs, as they accept younger children their parents cannot leave alone at home.
The ministry has called on organizers of such programs to extend their operating time to eight hours per day during the expected school closures. It has also asked them to take extra precautions against possible infections of the virus.
The operators of after-school programs must secure additional staff and implement other measures in the few days it has left until the school closures set in.
The ministry says it wants childcare facility operators to seek help from relevant groups if necessary.
