‘Breaking point’ – childcare workers plea for rapid Covid-19 tests

The childcare sector is urging the Queensland Government to offer staff and kids RATs during the Omicron wave.

Queensland childcare workers are desperately seeking access to free rapid antigen tests amid claims the sector is at breaking point, but the state’s Chief Health Officer says such measures have not been considered.

While schools have been given access to RATs, the Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland says staff continue to work on the “frontline of our state’s response to Covid-19 without respite”.

President Majella Fitzsimmons has written an impassioned plea to Education Minister Grace Grace, describing the sector “at breaking point” and saying it could “use some good news”.

“Other states are providing RATs at no cost for use by families and staff to help ensure that the children in these settings – our most vulnerable children as they are ineligible for vaccination – remain safe and engaged in learning, and the spread of Covid-19 in these settings can be minimised,” she wrote.

Education Minister Grace Grace

“The ECEC sector is eager for assurance that it has not been forgotten or ignored.”

The Courier-Mail understands the Minister has not yet responded, nor to an earlier letter sent on January 24 outlining similar matters.

Asked today whether the state government would support the sector with free RATs, CHO Dr John Gerrard said it was “not something we’ve considered at present ... not something we’ve looked at”.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said: “We’re happy to talk to the sector about that.

“Minister Grace can organise that.

“If there is a desperate need I’m sure we can put additional RATs out there.”

Education Minister Grace Grace has since committed to meeting with the sector.

An education department spokesman said the department had been communicating with the sector on an “on-going basis”.

“While Queensland’s early childhood sector is largely private and federally funded, the department is continuing discussions with the sector and Queensland Health about a range of issues impacting operators,” he said.

In an effort to reduce regulatory burden and support service operations at this time, the enforcement of a number of notification and application requirements have been temporarily paused in Queensland. These changes are administrative and while they support services to stay open, do not impact on the health, safety and well-being of children.

The spokesman went on to say that ratios would not be included in the services with increased flexibility, with any provider seeking to operate below ratio being required to apply for a regulatory waver.

LNP education spokesman Dr Christian Rowan said the early childcare sector had been “practically forgotten”, and urged the state government to step in.

“The delayed start of school assisted the education sector with the peak of the Omicron crisis, however, early childhood centres and their associated workforce continued through this stressful time with the support they needed from the state government,” he said.

“RATs are provided by the state government for teachers and students in school settings but the early childhood sector are left out on their own.”

Internal childcare correspondence seen by The Courier-Mail shows centres asking parents to test their children who have attended centres at the same time as children who test positive to Covid-19 with a RAT “if available”.

Under the current close contact measures centres do not need to automatically close when they have positive cases, but multiple sites have been forced to temporarily shut due to lack of staff.