The Monchique Municipal Nursery and Nursery will only reopen its doors on June 1st, the City Council decided, in a meeting with the Monchique Municipal Contingency Plan Coordination team for Covid-19 and the kindergarten teachers.
Those equipments are owned by the local authority, responding to the total demand for that service in the mountain council. Since they do not receive any support from Social Security, the decision on the date of reopening is up to the municipality.
Rui André, Mayor of Monchique, says he does not agree with the opening of day care centers this Monday, May 18th, as he considers that, «if during the period between May 18th and May 31st, parents still have the right to stay with their children, in the context of family support, must remain at home, since the family environment and retirement at home are the appropriate response to face this situation of the Covid-19 pandemic».
"The moment we are living forces us to be very cautious, under penalty of losing all the effort achieved so far", defends the Monchiquense mayor.
The Municipality guarantees that the transition plan that it is implementing for the opening of the Nursery and Nursery will comply with «all the guidelines of the General Directorate of Health, which only on the 13th of May published the Prevention and Control Measures in Nurseries ( Guideline No. 025/2020 of 13/05/2020 of the DGS)».
But, stresses the Municipality of Monchique, "compliance with the guidelines issued by the DGS for day care centers implies the implementation of prevention measures, infection control and adaptation of spaces due to the characteristics of this social response and the greater difficulty in adhering to preventive measures by children in this age group (0-3 years), with the aim of reducing the potential for transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 in day care centers».
The implementation of recent DGS guidelines "requires significant changes in the way the crèche works (adaptation of hygiene and cleaning plans, acquisition of materials, training of human resources, among others)", adds the municipality.
“Welcome stations” will be installed in each building in order to allow a circuit between the so-called “dirty area and clean area”, safeguarding the correct and safe access and exit of the premises.
A plan for children to return to the crèche will also be developed, promoting more regular contact between educators and children, «in order to develop an adaptation to this new normality».
Among other initiatives, «fun activities will be carried out to accept the use of the mask (video calls, construction of masks for toys, etc.), in order to reduce the impact of the requirement for the use of a surgical mask by all employees».
The Municipality of Monchique also decided that the opening of the Municipal Nursery will be done in a phased manner, «seeking to provide a response to those responsible for education who are presently integrated in the labor market, or as a one-off support for those who, for specific needs, duly substantiated and validated, cannot take care of the children”.
The municipality also states that it will always take into account "the guidelines of the DGS, the Government and the Municipal Public Health Authority, and there may be changes in the functioning of the crèche whenever the pandemic situation justifies it".
The Municipal Nursery and Nursery work is largely ensured by the Municipality of Monchique, with families having a contribution of up to 80 euros/month.
Although these devices were still in operation for half of March, President Rui André told the Sul Informação that the monthly fees for March, April and May were not charged. "It's one more way to help the families in the county," he added.
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