Early childhood centres to stay open under tightened SA lockdown
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday that South Africa would shift to stricter Covid-19 restrictions in the face of rapidly rising infections.
CAPE TOWN, June 29 (ANA) – Early childhood development (ECD) centres and partial care facilities in the Western Cape will remain open under the 14 days of a tightened South African lockdown aimed at curbing Covid-19 infections, the province’s department of social development said on Tuesday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday the country would shift to alert level 4 — with increased restrictions — of a lockdown that has been in place since March last year, in the face of rapidly rising infections.
In a statement on Tuesday, Western Cape member of the executive council for social development Sharna Fernandez urged all ECD centres to abide by all Covid-19 protocols and guidelines.
These measures, she said, included extensive safety training for staff, daily screening and hand-washing on arrival for both staff and children, staggered arrival times per age group and age-appropriate education for children about Covid-19.
“ECD operators must prioritise the health and safety of the children in their care,” Fernandez said.
The change in regulations announced by Ramaphosa would inevitably place additional pressure on ECDs already struggling to remain open, including those who had not yet received a payout from a stimulus relief fund set aside for the sector, she added.
Fernandez said she had noted with great concern that a low number of applications for the fund had been received in the Western Cape, adding that she had asked the national Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu to re-open applications.
“It saddens me deeply that I have yet to receive a formal response. As such, I will once again, write to Minister Zulu, requesting that her department immediately conduct a review of the ECD Stimulus Relief Fund payment, especially considering that the country has been placed under (a tighter lockdown),” Fernandez said.
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa