Nurseries will again welcome children of all parents regardless of whether they work in an essential sector when the first stage of the lockdown phase-out begins in May.
Nurseries under the competency of the Brussels-Wallonia Federation (FWB) were instructed to stop giving priority to the children of certain parents from 4 May.
"All children must be welcomed progressively and without distinction, taking into account the organisational capacity of the reception centre, and without distinction," FWB Childhood and Health Minister Bénédicte Linard wrote in a statement.
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The new regulations come after the National Security Council (NSC) announced that certain non-essential sectors would begin resuming activities from 4 May.
A gradual return to school was also greenlighted, with a limited number of school grades set to return to the classroom for a few days each week from 18 May.
"As a consequence of the decisions of the NSC, daycare will no longer be reserved to the children of parents working on the front lines or who have no other childcare alternative," the statement read.
The FWB's childhood office, ONE, will be charged with outlining measures to reduce health risks for both children and personnel as nurseries begin taking in a larger number of children.
Sanitary material such as fabric masks and sanitising gel will also be provided to the centres by the FWB, according to the statement.
Nurseries under the competency of the Flemish Community remained normally opened throughout the lockdown, even as some may have chosen to give priority to some categories of parents, a spokesperson for the Flemish Agency for Care and Health said.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
