Child care centers in counties that have reached the "yellow" phase in Governor Tom Wolf's reopening plan will be allowed to reopen without going through the waiver process, Department of Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller said Monday.
State officials, however, are urging daycare operators to follow guidelines set forth by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. Miller said the state is offering webinars on those guidelines.
Among those recommendations, the CDC says all children two years old and above should wear a cloth face covering and remain six feet apart. Some daycare directors in South Central Pennsylvania, who have been open after getting waivers to operate for essential workers' families, say that is an impossible ask.
"I simply am not going to enforce that because it's unreasonable," said Cherie Weinrich, who runs a child care center for five children in Middletown. "A 3 year old is not going to keep a mask on for 8 hours a day."
The CDC's guidelines are not mandatory. However, Pennsylvania's Human Services Department and the Office of Childhood Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) says all adults in day care centers should be wearing face masks all day.
"We would advise wearing a smock or large shirt that can be removed when they're done interacting with the children at at the end of the day to remove any contaminates," said Tracey Campanini of OCDEL.
Campanini added that all masks should be worn unless an adult has health or respiratory issues.
As of Tuesday, 1,529 child care centers across the state remained operational, Miller said. However, no counties in South Central PA are currently listed in the "yellow" phase.