ROYAL CENTER, Ind. — Sarah Vianco is a Franklin College graduate, mother and the owner and lead teacher of Little Sparrows Early Learning and Childcare.
After she made the decision to close her business near Logansport for the next few weeks over safety concerns with COVID-19, she shared with RTV6 what a day of sanitizing actually looks like at a daycare.
"The typical deep-clean I did on the weekend was now recommended daily, as well as so many other directives," Vianco said. "Drop the kids at the door, don't let drop-offs come all the way in, try to practice distancing, watch kids like a hawk for illness signs, wash hands even more often, etc."
As a solo care provider, she already worked a 10-hour day. The proper cleaning and sanitizing can take anywhere from two to six hours to deep clean on top of that, and her daycare is but a home with one classroom of toys.
"Despite best efforts, little ones cough and sneeze on toys," Vianco said. "They are super-sweet, so they do all of that and then offer that toy to their friend."
Vianco shared this process and the pictures of cleaning with her Facebook friends to remind the community that the people who are still open and caring for children are working long, hard hours to keep them safe and healthy.
"Be gentle with them. Try to understand this is uncharted territory for everyone. We don't know what the best call is," Vianco said. "We're simply trying to do what we feel is right."
She said workers like her are concerned about losing business temporarily, or even permanently, along with worrying about keeping kids healthy.
"If your provider is still open, give them a hug," Vianco said. "Or maybe an air hug from six feet away. They need it."
