Coronavirus: 3 emergency daycares to open in Ottawa, health workers to get priority

The City of Ottawa says it’s soon opening three provincially-funded, emergency child-care centres for essential workers amid the novel coronavirus pandemic and health-care workers who apply for the spaces will get priority.

The three new daycares will accommodate between 10-12 young children each and are expected to open on April 16, the mayor of Ottawa announced in a teleconference with reporters on Friday.

“The city will continue to review family needs and will consider providing emergency care on weekends and extended hours if necessary,” Jim Watson said.

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Details about the new child-care services come nearly two weeks after the provincial government announced it would open select emergency daycares across the province for workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 outbreak.

In a memo to city council members that was also shared with media, city staff said the province gave Ottawa’s “initial” plan to open three daycares the green light on March 27 and Ottawa Public Health gave the plan its approval on April 1.

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The emergency daycare centres are reserved “exclusively” for children of essential and critical service workers — including first responders and employees who help provide core municipal services — who have “no other child care alternatives,” said the memo, signed by the city’s general manager of community and social services, Donna Gray.

But because of their “limited capacity,” the city said it will “prioritize child-care spaces for health-care workers on a first come first served basis.”

The families who use them won’t have to pay up front for the service as the province is footing the bill, according to the municipality.

All three emergency daycares will be staffed by city employees, “many of whom are registered early childhood educators,” the memo noted.

Ottawa Public Health and the children’s services department are implementing several measures at the new centres “to help prevent the spread of infection” and those are expected to be completed next week, the city said.

Applications for the emergency child-care centres opened Friday. They’re available on the city’s website.

Here are the locations and hours of operation of the three child care centres:

• Esther By Child Care Centre
  • 1550 Caldwell Ave.
  • Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
• Centre Éducatif Tournesol
  • 194 McArthur Rd.
  • Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
• Dr. Ernest Couture Child Care Centre
  • 2185 Riverside Dr.
  • Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

City looking into more child care options

Gray said that Children’s Services is talking with other licensed child-care service providers in Ottawa who have said they’re interested in offering emergency child care during the viral pandemic.

“The city will adjust its local plan for emergency child care with additional locations and resubmit for provincial approval,” the manager wrote.

“Once operational, new locations will appear on the provincial list of emergency child care locations.”