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Seattle schools open childcare for medical staff and first-responders on coronavirus front lines

Seattle Public Schools has also opened childcare sites for families of grocery store and pharmacy workers, and for families in need.

SEATTLE — Seattle Public Schools will open five child care sites that prioritize the children of nurses, doctors, EMTs and others who directly aid coronavirus patients.

Seattle Public Schools is working with hospitals and first responders to enroll students into the program, according to the district. Each site will enroll up to 10 classrooms, with nine children and one childcare provider in each room.

The sites will serve students in kindergarten through fifth grade and will open April 6.

RELATED: Real-time updates: Latest news on the Washington coronavirus outbreak

Seattle Public Schools also will open several more child care centers that prioritize families of medical providers and first responders, as well the children of others who have been identified as essential in the struggle to slow the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The other specific groups are grocery and pharmacy staff, childcare workers, and essential Seattle Public Schools staff, as well as children of families who qualify for free and reduced meals or who are experiencing homelessness.

The YMCA of Greater Seattle and the Boys and Girls Clubs of King County also have opened child care centers that prioritize first responders, medical providers, grocery store workers and others.

More information on the Seattle Public Schools' program is on its website. The YMCA of Greater Seattle and the Boys and Girls Clubs of King County also have information on their programs on their websites.

Childcare had been a concern for many families after the state closed schools in mid-March, in the wake of the rapid spread of coronavirus. 

RELATED: Parents scramble to find childcare as schools close amid coronavirus outbreak

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