Toronto announced Monday that it's opening two new child care centres to serve the families of essential and critical service workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As in the city's first four emergency child care centres, which opened on March 31, care is being offered 24 hours a day, seven days a week at no cost to qualifying families.

In a statement, the city said it has received more than 800 applications for emergency child care since March 26 — and has placed nearly 200 children in one of the centres. About 70 per cent of those applications came from front-line health care workers.

The first of the two new centres, at 34 Bathurst St., opens Monday. The second, at 1125 Danforth Ave., will open later in the week.

All six Toronto centres are located inside existing city-run licensed child care facilities, and are staffed by City of Toronto child care workers.

The emergency child care is being funded by the province.