CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Day care and child care centers are preparing to reopen in Illinois.
Child care and day care centers will be allowed to reopen in Phase Three of the Restore Illinois plan - which is set to tentatively take effect on Friday - and the owners of the centers said they are getting ready.
People who run child care centers have been training staffers on the new rules that will be in place.
Bela Mote, CEO of Carole Robertson Center for Learning in Chicago told the WBBM Noon Business Hour that her teachers are approaching the soft opening with a mixture of anticipation, anxiety, and knowledge that they have to learn new ways of doing their old job..
"Training, real appreciation all around, staff understanding COVID-19, the requirements..." she said.
Mote said the first couple of weeks will be a learning experience for staff, parents, and kids.
"And I think that will go a long way in terms of creating that welcomed space that is safe and healthy for all," Mote said.
Child care centers will have strict capacity limits for the first four week after reopening. They will be limited to 8 infants or 10 children regardless of age.
Mote said that she does not believe the rule will leave parents grappling to find a new child care center if their old one is full.
"They don't think that parents are going to grapple as much as we think, just because I think a lot of families are looking at what they have in place and how they might extend it," she said.
Children ages two and up will have to wear a face mask, when they enter or exit a building, or when they are in a shared space - if at all possible - which could be a tall order for a fidgety toddler.
The Carole Robertson Center will require kids over the age of 5 to wear a face mask in common spaces, and she said teachers will do the best they can to make sure the kids keep the face mask on.