How about child care, too?

Maybe, just maybe, Congress is finally getting serious about helping parents get back to work. There’s growing bipartisan support among lawmakers for a major relief package that could help child care providers meet the enormous coronavirus-related challenges that have forced some centers to suspend operations and left others barely hanging on. The ongoing pandemic could cause roughly 40% of child care facilities to close permanently, according to a survey of 5,000 providers. If they go down, so will the prospects of working parents and the economy.

The fundamental problem is that in the current environment, child care providers lose money whenever they open their doors. To help minimize exposure and contain outbreaks, facilities are limited to 10 kids per classroom no matter the age, down from 24 in classrooms with older children.

They still need teachers to oversee those smaller classes. And they need aides to escort children into their facilities because parents are required to drop kids off outside.

Then there are the added expenses to make child care centers safer, including masks, face shields, gloves, thermometers and cleaning supplies. And they need more toys because kids can’t share them anymore. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended sanitizing toys immediately after a child puts it in his or her mouth, or sneezes or coughs on it. The cleaning regimen is so intense, operators may need extra employees just to keep up.