The Children and Families Agency has opened a public consultation on a revised infection-control guideline for nurseries. The draft moves influenza, COVID-19 and pharyngoconjunctival fever (pool fever) from the group of infections where a doctor may write an opinion before a child returns to the group where a parent submits an attendance notice after a doctor's diagnosis.
The forms are not mandatory by default. The draft says an opinion or attendance notice is not required across the board. Each nursery decides with municipal support and after talks with local medical institutions, doctors' associations and schools. If a form is required, parents and the nursery's contract doctor should be told in advance.
Waiting times stay put
The draft keeps the school-law exclusion benchmarks for the three infections that changed route. The 2023 partial revision lists the same three under the doctor's-opinion group.
| Infection | 2023 guideline | 2026 draft | Return benchmark in draft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Influenza | Doctor's opinion list | Parent's notice list | Five days after onset and three days after fever ends (infants) |
| COVID-19 | Doctor's opinion list | Parent's notice list | Five days after onset and one day after symptoms ease |
| Pharyngoconjunctival fever | Doctor's opinion list | Parent's notice list | Two days after main symptoms resolve |
The agency says the review aims to lighten the burden on children, parents, nurseries and local authorities while keeping children's safety the first priority. It cites eight years since the last full revision and the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What else the draft adds
The overview lists two new items: a section on ventilation and air-conditioning management, and a section on keeping a nursery running during outbreaks. It also lists richer descriptions and photographs for individual infections.
On ventilation, the draft says built-in 24-hour systems and exhaust fans should run continuously, and that ordinary air conditioners have no ventilation function. Where windows cannot be opened enough, it suggests a HEPA-filter air purifier alongside window ventilation.
For outbreaks, the draft sorts tasks into four categories and gives the first two top priority: care and meals, and infection-control work such as disinfection, ventilation and coordination with doctors and health centres. The other two categories are tasks that can be scaled back, such as walks and joint classes, and events that can be postponed or cancelled.
Two other lines may matter to operators. The draft says nurseries need not uniformly demand specific tests, such as rapid influenza or RSV antigen tests, or a negative result to confirm recovery. It also recommends against masks for children under two and does not ask for them at two and over, while leaving staff mask-wearing to individual choice.
Timetable
Comments run from October 16 to November 14, 2026, and must be in Japanese. The agency plans to issue and publish the final guideline in December 2026.