Jan. 12, 2022

State officials say they're backing off a quarantine rule for child care that experts say has been emptying out child care centers.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services has been telling care providers that a 10-day quarantine for children with COVID exposures is a requirement for their state licensing. That's subjected thousands of kids across Minnesota sometimes to repeated quarantine periods.

DHS Commissioner Jodi Harpstead says her agency understands the burden this has put on families with small children, parents, employers and care providers, and will back off quarantine enforcement.

"We're asking providers to follow COVID-19 guidance to the greatest extent possible," Harpstead said, "And we're going to keep our compliance efforts related to reporting the cases to the MDH and to the parents and isolating children and staff who have COVID, and not so much on this quarantine rule."

Harpstead says federal and state health guidance remains the same for now, suggesting a 10 day quarantine, but that may be revised soon.