Five children did no go to the daycare 't Kevertje in Diest on Monday, because a baby also staying there just returned from China, and parents are worried about the coronavirus.
Last weekend, an 11-month-old baby returned from China with his parents. Normally, the baby would start going back to the daycare on Monday, but the parents of the other children have raised some concerns. They demanded from the daycare, and from the city that owns it, that measures were taken, reports VRT.
The unrest started after a worried mother posted on Facebook that "although the child had not been in the infected province, infections are popping up everywhere in China" and that "there is too little knowledge about the coronavirus and its treatment to 'perhaps' expose our children to it," she wrote.
"We have followed all the guidelines assigned to us by the FPS Public Health and by the advising physician of the Child and Family association. We have also been in constant consultation with them since Friday," the mayor of Diest, Christophe De Graef, told The Brussels Times.
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"The mother of the baby came back on Saturday and immediately made an appointment with the family doctor. This morning, they presented a doctor's certificate stating that the baby was healthy," he said. "There's no danger at all. At the slightest doubt we would have closed the daycare immediately," he added.
The parents of the baby understand the concerns of the others, according to De Graef, but they have done everything possible to make sure that there is no danger to the other children. "They came back from China, but not from Wuhan. Regardless, they have not had any contact with other people in China, which also has very strict measures in place. All this means that no specific measures had to be taken by us," he added.
"However, to reassure everyone, we have arranged for a Flemish health inspector, and a physician from Child and Family to come here and give an explanation to the parents on Wednesday evening," De Graef added.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
