Almost two years into COVID-19 pandemic, some Aberdeen day cares struggle to fill spots

As more children test positive for COVID-19, day cares are trying to find the best way to deal with the surge.

Research still suggests children are less likely to have severe illness from the virus, but that doesn't mean kids aren't susceptible to complications. South Dakota recently reported its first death of a child under the age of 10 from COVID-19.

Many day care providers have been able to keep their day cares open throughout the pandemic to help parents. But that hasn't come without its ups and downs, said Chasity Jones of Aberdeen.

All day cares in Aberdeen have to be licensed by the city. But some can also choose to be licensed by the state, which allowed them to be eligible for financial aid during the pandemic. COVID-19 has been particularly hard on providers who lost a significant source of income due to having fewer children enrolled.

Jones had 12 children in her day care when the pandemic hit. That number dropped to eight, and it took months to get the number back up to 11. Many families pulled out of day care because they were concerned about their kids getting COVID-19 or were now able to work from home, Jones said.

More: COVID and kids: How the omicron surge is impacting child hospitalizations, school safety

Individual day cares set their own rates. But in a competitive market people might try to stay within the same range as other day cares in town. That means a day care with three children might charge the same rate as a day care with nine kids with no way to supplement the lost income.

Day cares are taking extra precautions to prevent COVID-19

Mandy Bunke, who has had her day care for about 16 years, went from having 10 to two kids when the pandemic hit. That number stayed at two for four months and finally went back up to 10 in December 2021.

Bunke hasn't had any issues with kids testing positive, but said that they are asked to stay home until they can get tested if a parent or family member tests positive. If the kid tests negative, they are free to return to the day care.

There aren't any specific COVID-19 regulations for city-licensed day cares aside from following CDC guidelines. Right now, that means asking children to stay home if they are deemed a close contact until they can get a test and having those that test positive quarantine for at least five days.

Danielle Carlson shut down her day care for five weeks right when the pandemic hit. It has been open since, but Carlson said there has been several instances of parents testing positive.

One of the main challenges is figuring out whether the illness is a cold, influenza or COVID-19, said Carlson. With the omicron variant presenting more mild symptoms than previous variants, it can be difficult to tell the difference between the two.

Because kids frequently contract colds during the winter, communication with parents is key to figuring out whether the child should stay home, said Carlson.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Day cares struggle to fill spots amid Covid-19 surge