KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The holiday weekend will continue for many students in the metro while school districts shut down to try and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and due to staffing shortages.
Many parents have had to get creative with childcare this week, whether it be requesting to work from home, calling up family, daycares and community centers, or bringing kids to work.
“Doesn’t matter if it’s a holiday, a birthday, school's out, we still have to do what we do,” Kristien Garrett said. “School's canceled tomorrow, I still have to get up and go to work.”
Garrett and her four kids had to act fast, her mother came to the rescue.
“She had to fly here from Arizona, so definitely had to make a plan, but luckily, she was willing to drop everything and come take care of her grandbabies,” Garrett said.
Other Kansas City area families found themselves in a similar situation.
“We do have other family members — grandma, and aunts that can step in,” parent Richard Fair said. “We are very fortunate that we have other family members to rely on. Other families, I do worry for them, who have nothing but their job. It’s a lot to juggle, they really need schools.”
While the spread of COVID-19 is impacting school closings and childcare, it also impacts the health of children at climbing rates.
At Children’s Mercy Hospital, the number of confirmed positive impatient cases was:
- Monday - 30 cases
- Two weeks ago - 25 cases
- Four weeks ago - 13 cases
CMH says they tested 3,700 kids last week and 36% of tests came back positive.
As schools try to mitigate risk and stop further disruption to learning, parents are careful to not disrupt their jobs.
“Money flow cannot stop just because school is out,” Garrett said.
