In Irkutsk, the children taken from a private kindergarten were discharged, where one child had died earlier and eight more were hospitalized with a preliminary diagnosis of acute poisoning. Authorities said the illegally run apartment kindergarten was unsanitary, and final toxicology results will be ready on September 5. Details of the inspection, the circumstances, and oversight of private preschools are in the report.

Children brought from a private kindergarten have been discharged from the Ivano-Matreninskaya Children’s Clinical Hospital. This was reported by the Minister of Health of the Irkutsk Region, Nikolai Kornilov, during an emergency meeting held by the Deputy Chair of the regional Government, Valentina Voblikova.
On August 13, at 2:15 p.m. Irkutsk time, an emergency call was received from a private apartment reporting that the children were unwell; the ambulance crew arrived at the scene at 2:19 p.m. An investigative task force consisting of Investigative Committee officers, forensic specialists, and police officers immediately went to the scene. In the apartment, doctors confirmed the death of a child aged 1 year and 4 months. Eight children aged from 1.3 years to 3 years were taken to the Ivano-Matreninskaya Children’s Clinical Hospital. Under the supervision of doctors, the children remained there until today; their condition is satisfactory, and there is no threat to their lives. All the children have been given a preliminary diagnosis of “acute poisoning.” The final results of toxicological analyses and examinations will be available on September 5. As it later turned out, a private kindergarten was operating in the apartment without permits or registration.
The head of the Rospotrebnadzor Administration for the Irkutsk Region, Alexey Perezhogin, noted that as part of joint actions with the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Irkutsk Region, during the inspection the three-room apartment was found to be in unsanitary condition, cluttered with old things and boards. It was not possible to determine what the children had eaten that day. Agency staff took swabs and samples in the apartment for microbiological and toxicological studies.
The woman who carried out the illegal activity did not want to legalize it. Requirements for preschool child care organizations are very strict — regarding places for children’s rest, play, and meals, as well as the menu and the quality of the food. Here, strangely enough, the parents did not pay attention to the conditions in which their children were staying. The apartment owner did not enter into contractual relations with the parents. Private kindergartens that have a license or are registered with the tax inspectorate are regularly subject to scheduled and unscheduled inspections. If there had been a complaint from parents or neighbors, this kindergarten would have been checked for compliance with the conditions for children, the deputy chair noted.
Valentina Voblikova emphasized that 251 private organizations providing services to preschool-age children operate in the Irkutsk Region, of which 27 are licensed organizations. Under federal law, only organizations that provide educational services are subject to licensing. Organizations that provide only care and supervision for children are not licensed. In Irkutsk, there are 221 private kindergartens, 17 of which are licensed.
Based on materials from the press service of the Government of the Irkutsk Region.