Governor Hogan Enacts Emergency Order to Expand Access to Child Care During COVID-19 State of EmergencyState Department of Education Issues Enhanced Guidelines for Day Care Facilities to Prevent The Spread of COVID-19 ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan today enacted an emergency order to expand child care access to child care for critical personnel during the state of emergency. This will help ensure that child care services are available for providers of health care, emergency medical services, and law enforcement personnel while schools are closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. “Our state has taken major and unprecedented actions to protect the health, the safety, and the welfare of the people of Maryland,” said Governor Hogan. “As we continue to operate under a state of emergency, we are committed to doing everything in our power to maintain our essential services, including child care, especially for those who are on the front lines helping us combat this public health threat.” As part of the directive she issued on Thursday, State Superintendent of Schools Karen Salmon announced that plans would be developed to ensure that the children of emergency services personnel have access to childcare throughout during a prolonged period of school closure. This order gives the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) the flexibility to work with regional and local officials to quickly and effectively make child care services available that adhere to public health guidelines. Read the governor’s emergency order. Enhanced Guidelines for Child Care Programs Additionally, Superintendent Salmon has issued enhanced guidelines for child care programs and day care facilities to follow to prevent the spread of COVID-19. “Every child care and day care provider in our state is essential to our mission of maintaining essential services in this time of crisis,” said Dr. Salmon. “We are providing these guidelines to make sure that child care programs can continue to operate while helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19.” Child care programs must take extraordinary precautions beyond what is normally recommended to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, including:
Special processes beyond routine cleaning are not necessary nor recommended to slow the spread of respiratory illness. Programs should follow standard procedures for cleaning as recommended below by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Typically, this means daily sanitizing surfaces and objects that are touched often, such as bathrooms, water coolers, desks, countertops, doorknobs, computer keyboards, hands‐on learning items, faucet handles, phones and toys. The State of Maryland is continuing to operate under a state of emergency, and all levels of government are taking a comprehensive, collaborative approach to keep Marylanders safe. The list of ongoing state actions is available at governor.maryland.gov/coronavirus. For health resources regarding COVID-19, Marylanders should visit health.maryland.gov/coronavirus. |