Japan municipalities lacking alternative day care facilities for coronavirus shutdowns

TOKYO -- A mere 30% of 72 major municipalities in Japan have countermeasures in place in case authorized day care centers are shut down after their children or workers contracted the novel coronavirus, such as preparing substitute facilities, a Mainichi Shimbun survey has found.

The questionnaire targeted 74 municipalities in Tokyo's special 23 wards, ordinance-designated cities and prefectural capitals between late June and early July, and received answers from 72 local bodies except for the cities of Otsu and Kanazawa in western and central Japan, respectively.

According to the results of the survey, only 22 cities and wards have prepared alternative solutions such as using substitute facilities in case authorized day care centers are closed after their children or staff were found infected with the new coronavirus.

If day care facilities remain closed for a prolonged period of time, it could force parents and guardians in double-income or single-parent households to take leave from work or even quit their jobs to look after their children. The national government has recommended that municipalities look into alternative measures, but the survey results suggest municipal responses are lagging far behind.

When day care centers shut down, they mostly do so for two weeks based on a benchmark period suggested by the central government. Municipalities cited a range of responses during the closure period as part of measures to take care of children whose families have difficulties looking after them at home but who have no risk of carrying the coronavirus, or whose parents are essential workers. These included the use of other facilities such as different child care centers or parenting support centers; looking after children in disinfected rooms that have not been used by infected individuals or those who came in close contact with coronavirus carriers; and introducing baby-sitters to parents and guardians. The methods and subjects of these measures could change depending on the status of infections and other factors.

A total of 22 municipalities including the cities of Nagano and Matsuyama in central and western Japan, respectively, have prepared such countermeasures, while nine other local bodies including the cities of Gifu and Yamagata in central and northern Japan, respectively, are mulling such measures for possible implementation.

Among the municipalities that have countermeasures in place, the city of Kitakyushu in southwestern Japan has begun a program to temporarily look after children of medical professionals and other essential workers at city-run parenting support facilities while their day care centers are shut down. In the city of Niigata in central Japan, a municipal day care center used a disinfected room for five days to take care of children of households that have difficulties looking after them at home when the facility was shut down for two weeks after one of its workers was found infected with the coronavirus in March. The disinfected room had not been used by the infected worker or others who had come in close contact with virus carriers. The city plans to take the same response in the event other similar cases arise in the future.

The city of Osaka in western Japan said its day care facilities may shut down for one to several days depending on which day of the week a coronavirus case is identified, and then reopen while having some children not attend depending on the progress of identifying those who came in close contact with infected individuals. Tokyo's Ota Ward and 10 other wards in the capital said they will introduce to parents and guardians a special program run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government that enables them to hire baby-sitters at relatively low prices.

Meanwhile, many municipalities have not prepared concrete countermeasures mainly due to fears over a further spread of infections. Tokyo's Adachi Ward, one of such local bodies, saw four of its day care centers shut down in July after their workers were found infected. An official at the ward office said, "It is difficult (to prepare alternative measures) as we cannot rule out the possibility of some children being unaware of their infection."

An official at the Takamatsu Municipal Government in western Japan confided, "It is difficult to leave children to the care of other facilities when we think of the sentiment of workers there. There is also a manpower issue for day care staff to visit children's homes." An official at the Nagoya Municipal Government said that the central Japan city has not prepared any "substitute day care opportunities." The Fukuoka Municipal Government in southwestern Japan said it has not investigated any detailed measures but that it "will look into them depending on the status of infections."

In a notice issued in February, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare called for municipalities to examine steps such as providing substitute day care opportunities in consideration of possible burdens that could be inflicted on medical professionals and other essential workers in case their children's day care centers are shut down due to a coronavirus outbreak.

Toshiyuki Shiomi, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and chairman of the Japan Society of Research on Early Childhood Care and Education, commented, "I hope municipalities will make sure that guardians in single-parent and other households who could lose their jobs due to day care center closures can receive sufficient financial assistance, and will prepare day care opportunities for children whose guardians cannot take time off from work on condition that anti-transmission measures are taken."

(Japanese original by Natsuko Ishida and Eri Misono, Lifestyle and Medical News Department)