Nineteen childcare services have notified authorities about confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the nine weeks since the sector reopened.
That represents just over 1% of the almost 1,700 services that have reopened their doors since 29 June.
Early Childhood Ireland has welcomed the low numbers but it has called for fast-track testing for those working in the sector.
19 childcare services have notified authorities about confirmed cases of Covid 19 in the 9 weeks since the sector re-opened reports @SamanthaLibreri
— RTÉ News at One (@RTENewsAtOne) August 28, 2020
Its CEO Teresa Heeney said with low staff to child ratios and issues with recruitment in the sector, fast-track testing would allow staff with symptoms to isolate while minimising the impact on childcare services.
She also said she believes the low numbers recorded in the sector is a testament to the hard work of those in reopening the sector in a safe but also playful and welcoming way.
The majority of the 19 services remained open after a case was confirmed on the premises. The figures released to RTÉ News show that of the 19, 13 remained open and six temporarily closed.
Five of those services closed voluntarily and one closed following instruction from public health officials.
Ten of the affected services were in Dublin.
Kildare, Laois and Limerick had two affected services each and Meath, Waterford and Wicklow had one each.
According to the figures from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, all of the services that closed did so temporarily and some of them have since reopened.
It said childcare services are not required to take any action in relation to closing unless instructed to by public health officials, which would also advise if they should close individual pods or rooms or close the service fully.
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The department said 1,674 childcare services have reopened in the past two months, which is more than 90% of the services that usually open in the summer months.
Childcare services are obliged to report confirmed cases of Covid-19 to the Tusla Early Years Inspectorate and this information is passed on to the department.
