Early Childhood Ireland has warned many creches won't be able to stay open unless their staff have access to rapid Covid-19 testing.
It's warned some are facing waits of up to 5 days to find out if they've tested positive.
READ: Our press release about the impact of any #Covid19 testing delays on our sector. This would have serious implications for maintaining the necessary staff ratios within #EarlyYears & #SchoolAgeCare settings.https://t.co/OZCA0nZW3g pic.twitter.com/VV4K09ovol
— Early Childhood Ireland (@EarlyChildhdIRL) August 18, 2020
"Operators need to know they're safe themselves, their staff are safe and that the community they're working within is safe", says CEO of Early Childhood Ireland, Teresa Heeney.
![creche capacity coronavirus](https://media.radiocms.net/uploads/2020/08/16094359/Childcare.jpg)
"In order to do that, we really need testing that ideally would be done within 24 to 48 hours and that our sector is prioritised in terms of getting access to those tests and getting results back quickly."