As we see out the last days of summer, I wanted to take the opportunity to update everyone on what we know about COVID-19 and young children and what life at Kids Konnect looks like moving forwards.
But first, I must express my most heartfelt thank you to our children, parents, families and Kids Konnect staff for staying strong, following the rules, and working together to keep each other safe. Thank you for your efforts in stopping the spread of COVID-19 and protecting our children.
What we know about COVID-19 and Young Children
We are now in a very different place than we were back in March in terms of what we know about this virus. I recently attended a panel session with UCSF on Early Childcare and COVID-19: The Science of Transmission, Safe Practices, Stress and Resilience where I learned the facts we now have after months of worldwide data collection. The researchers have used data from other densely populated cities to model the situation in the Bay Area. Thankfully, this information is good news for families with young children who rely on childcare.
The data demonstrates that in preschool children, transmission amongst them or from them is uncommon.
The below slide from the UCSF presentation demonstrates just how low the transmission rates are in childcare settings. The numbers on the left show that no children tested positive for COVID-19 across 1,100 sites reviewed showing that the children are not only not transmitting the virus to one another, they are managing to avoid catching it from the adults in their school or families in the first place.
The Australian study referenced in the right hand column denotes that even where the virus is present in childhood centers, transmission rates are extremely low at:
- Child-to-child transmission: 0.3%
- Child-to-staff transmission: 1%
- Staff-to-child transmission: 1.5%
- Staff-to-staff transmission: 4.4%
The study further points to the small scale of the problem when you consider that the overall case rate is very low. Only 1.2% of people across the 10 childhood centers and 15 schools studied had any exposure to COVID-19 at all.
Let’s drill down on that Australian study and look at one Center in particular.
The implications noted state that adult-to-adult and adult-to-child transmissions are more likely that child-to-child or child-to-adult and, crucially, that masks may have helped to prevent this outbreak.
Why do Young Children Not Transmit COVID-19 as Efficiently as Adults?
Researchers do not know for sure why young children seem to be less affected by the virus, but the answer to why young children seem to be far less efficient at transmitting COVID-19 may be simpler than you think.
Young children are both smaller and weaker than adults, meaning they are physically less able to expel viral particles. Their noses and mouths are also much closer to the ground meaning the respiratory drops cannot travel as far before they reach the ground. Also, as young children do not seem to suffer as much as adults with the virus, they’re actually coughing less in the first place. So their chances of transmitting the virus are far reduced compared to adults. See the visual representation below:
What is the Case Rate of COVID-19 in Childcare Organizations in California?
The below statistics show that the cases of COVID-19 associated with a childcare organization remains at less than 1%.
What does this mean for us at Kids Konnect?
The data shows that childcare and infant centers are safe for children to return to. However, at Kids Konnect we are not taking our foot off the gas when it comes to hygiene and special precautions. As we learned from the Australian study above, following strict measures and guidance can be the difference between a 1% and zero% infection rate. And zero is where we plan to be.
The official guidance for preschools in our area continues to change and we at Kids Konnect continue to stay abreast of those changes.
Child Care Licensing and the local health department have given the green light to increase group sizes from 12 children to a maximum of 16 people (including children and adults). Of course this is good news as we can now welcome more families to Kids Konnect, but we will be taking things slow and fully vetting new families before they are allowed to join us.
We’ve also been told to do our best to keep the children apart, and that it is understood by officials how challenging that can be. Our approach continues to be having children in the same groups each day, to have them mixing with as few people as possible. We encourage masks for children over two but are very aware of how much of a challenge that can be with little ones and we do not force the children to wear them.
We are as thorough as ever with our COVID-19 procedures including disinfecting, wearing masks and washing our hands with vigour. We are dedicated to the safety of our staff, families and youngest learners and ask that everyone in our community continues to keep up the good work that will help us to remain open and be here for families.
Watch this video for an overview of the Kids Konnect COVID-19 procedures.
Measures include:
- Thorough, frequent disinfecting of toys, play areas, chairs, desks, equipment, surfaces, door knobs, etc
- Temperature checks on entry and twice a day for both children and staff members
- On entry to the classroom, children are taken to wash hands for at least 20 seconds
- One family at a time inside the building for pick ups and drop off
- Parents asked to not enter the physical classroom during pick up / drop off
- Masks required and hand sanitizer provided for adults
- Hand washing, clean gloves and masks used for all food preparation
- Bathrooms sanitized after every use
- Teaching the importance of hand washing to preschoolers
- Teachers wear masks and gloves at infant centers
- Spaced out beds for nap times
- Open windows for fresh air flow
- Full disinfecting of each center at the end of each school day
- Running virtual tours only for prospective new families
Thank you for all your efforts to keep each other safe and we look forward to welcoming back families who have remained at home throughout lockdown. Give your Center a call to arrange coming back. Thank you.