With a "cry for help" and an urgent appeal, an educator turned to Penzberger Merkur. She criticizes the current regulations for emergency care in kindergartens as dangerous: for caregivers, children and the general public.
BY FRANZISKA SELIGER
Penzberg - fear. This feeling accompanies her every day at work, says the Penzberg educator, who works in a neighboring town. It does not want to be named by name. She actually does her job with passion, as she emphasizes. Due to the current Corona crisis, she is working in emergency care in a childcare facility. At first, it worked well. "But by expanding the criteria of which children are eligible for emergency care, there are more and more children who use them," she says.
Emergency care for children: Parents from systemically relevant professions are entitled
Children were initially only allowed to use emergency care if both parents or the single parent work in a so-called systemically relevant profession - for example, as a geriatric nurse or nurse. After the expansion on March 23, parents can now also bring their child to emergency care if only one parent works in such an area of the so-called critical infrastructure, but the other is at home in the home office. As a result of this expansion, says the kindergarten teacher, she and her colleagues no longer have to look after less than five children, but up to 15. This increases the risk of caregivers becoming infected. Because especially the staff in hospitals or doctor's offices are in constant danger of coming into contact with the virus - and with it their children, who then carry the virus into the facility, where the educators spread it back to their own families - and to her own children, who, incidentally, should not be given emergency care, as the Penzbergerin complains. She herself is less afraid for herself, but for her grandmother with whom she lives. There are certainly colleagues who were considering getting sick - for fear of infection.
Emergency care: teacher misses protective measures
At the entrance to the facility, determine the children's health status, for example by measuring the temperature, this is not allowed. "As a kindergarten we shouldn't measure fever at all," she explains and emphasizes: "I go to emergency care with an incredibly stupid feeling."
And while not even the postman was allowed to enter the facility, the parents still took their children to their group room - the Penzberger feared an additional chance for the virus to spread. "It's really scary," she says. "It is a very thoughtless act that takes place there."
Among other things, she and her colleagues have already obtained information from the health department about the protective measures available. But apart from the tips of washing hands and keeping your distance, nothing came. She asks herself: "How should I keep my distance from a one and a half year old child?" To make matters worse, the disinfectant is running low. "It is also no longer available for us as an institution." According to the health authority, kindergartens and the like would be far behind hospitals or medical practices on the list of organizations that are entitled to disinfectants. In order to feel at least a little bit more protected, many colleagues already wear self-made mouth guards and disposable gloves. But the latter are also running out of stock.
This situation is not nice for the children. "You are unsettled," observed the Penzberger. Many wanted to know why they couldn't get a mouthguard themselves. "The children are well aware of the danger."
The Penzbergerin now makes an urgent appeal to all employers outside the systemically relevant professions, whose employees are currently working from home: They should reduce the workload of their employees to such an extent that they are not forced to give their children emergency care - to protect everyone.
Read also: Spread of the coronavirus - the situation in the district of Weilheim-Schongau
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