Gyeonggi-do to Lift Childcare Center Closures from the 18th... 10,835 Centers

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will lift the closure order for all 10,835 daycare centers in the province starting from the 18th.

This comes 173 days after the closure order was issued on February 27 to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Although the Ministry of Health and Welfare lifted the nationwide daycare center closure on June 1, Gyeonggi Province maintained the closure due to enhanced quarantine measures.

With this order lifted, daycare centers in other metropolitan areas such as Seoul and Incheon will also reopen from the 18th.

However, while the provincial-level daycare center closure is lifted, separate closures at the city or county level may still be possible depending on the COVID-19 spread situation.

Due to the prolonged closure, the burden of home care on guardians has increased, and the need to reopen daycare centers has been consistently raised.

In fact, the usage rate of emergency childcare for infants and toddlers who have difficulty receiving home care due to dual-income families increased from 11.5% on February 27, when the closure began, to 87% on July 23.

Even after reopening, daycare centers must comply with the Ministry of Health and Welfare's "COVID-19 Response Guidelines for Daycare Centers."

Additionally, if a contact occurs within a daycare center, the center will be closed until the contact person receives a final negative test result or is released from quarantine.

In the event of a confirmed case, the daycare center will be closed for 14 days from the confirmation date or until all contacts within the center test negative or are released from quarantine.

Lee Soon-neum, Director of the Women's and Family Bureau of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "After reopening, Gyeonggi Province and city/county governments will strengthen regular inspections so that parents and children can use daycare centers with peace of mind," and urged, "Daycare centers should pay even more attention to quarantine management in preparation for reopening."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.