Covid-19 cases in early years settings ‘skyrocket’ before Christmas

In the week commencing 20 December, nurseries, pre-schools and childminders reported a total of 3,697 cases of the virus among staff and children.

The previous week, commencing 13 December, 2,935 cases were reported.

Around the Christmas and New Year period last year, the highest number of cases reported was 2,357 in the week commencing 11 January 2021 when the UK was in its third national lockdown.

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In the week beginning 14 December 2020, just 604 cases of Covid-19 were reported by early years settings, rising to 620 the following week.

Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said: "It’s staggering that at a time when so many nurseries, pre-schools and childminders are being affected by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the government has yet to announce any financial or practical support for our vital sector.”

He added that the new figures show that despite cases in settings “skyrocketing” before Christmas, the government is yet to announce further support for the sector.

“Given that there is no requirement for under-fives to isolate or take daily lateral flow tests if they have been in close contact with a positive Covid case, many in the early years are understandably deeply concerned about their ability to protect themselves, their colleagues and their loved ones from the virus, especially given that those who ask children to stay home in that instance could face lost fees and funding as a result.

"Ignoring the needs of the early years sector will cause huge disruption for parents, employers and, of course, young children as well. With the end of this crisis still seemingly a long way off, the government must immediately set out what it plans to do to ensure that early years providers are able to remain both safe and financially sustainable through this outbreak and beyond,” he said.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) added: “We expect these very high statistics to continue this month with nurseries continuing to tell us that many children and staff are unable to attend nursery.

“NDNA is urgently collecting the latest data to show us the current trends week on week so we can ensure the government understands the pressures that childcare providers are under. We will use this up-to-date evidence to make the strong case that the sector needs urgent support.”