Gradual expansion of the early childhood care service

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As part of the gradual expansion of the service, priority will be given to the children of people in the following categories:

• nursing staff;
• people responsible for official activities;
• emergency and security services (police, prison guards, firefighters);
• people working in the death care sector;
• civil defence staff on duty;
• people responsible for child protection and supervision;
• staff responsible for providing minimum nursery and school care;
• families living in vulnerable or dangerous situations (child protection);
• people responsible for delivering food supplies;
• staff of the municipal social services;
• staff of the road cleaning service and waste transport companies;
• cleaning staff;
• people working in medical practices and in connection with patient transport (doctors, dentists in surgeries, physiotherapists, osteopath, ambulance attendants, etc.);
• people working in establishments providing services involving physical contact (hair salons, massage parlours, beauty salons, etc.);
• people working in DIY stores, plant nurseries, garden centres and florists;
• and, in exceptional cases, parents who must continue working and who have no suitable childcare solution.

Care conditions

Numerous conditions must be met to facilitate this expansion of the minimum care service.

The facilities must adapt accordingly, in particular to ensure compliance with the health constraints:

• hand-washing;
• social distancing for adults;
• provision of hydro-alcoholic gel;
• cleaning the premises.

Group sizes will be adjusted in accordance with the supervision numbers recommended by the cantonal authorities, for example no more than 2 adults in a space measuring 30 to 40 m² which can host six children up to the age of 2, or eight children aged 2 to 4..

The premises must be organised so that it is possible to separate the arrival and departure of the children and their families.

Until 11 May, the minimum care service will be expanded in several phases in order to satisfy the needs in light of the health constraints and limited care capacities.

In all cases, the management team of the care facility has full authority and will take its decisions based on an evaluation of each family’s situation.

In light of the pandemic, the City of Geneva is making every effort to provide families and early childhood care facilities with the necessary support within an extremely short time frame in order to provide the children with the best possible care.