More daycares closing in connection to Calgary E. coli outbreak
Posted Sep 16, 2023 8:13 am.
Last Updated Sep 16, 2023 10:54 am.
Amid Calgary’s E. Coli outbreak affecting people at several daycares in the city, Alberta’s chief medical officer says more are closing due to positive results of the bacterial disease.
Dr. Mark Joffe issued the statement late Friday night saying out of an “abundance of caution,” the additional facilities will be closed.
They are Active Start Country Hills, the Scenic Acres CanCare Childcare location, CEFA Early Learning Childcare South, MTC Daycare, Renert Junior Kindergarten, and Calgary JCC Child Care.
“Facilities will be required to be cleaned and sanitized, and all children will be tested to confirm their negative status before returning to the centre,” Joffe’s statement reads.
BREAKING:
Alberta government closes down five additional Calgary daycare sites following new positive E. coli tests. #yyc #yeg #ableg pic.twitter.com/QgwiWU4pT1
— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) September 16, 2023
He says all facility operators have been contacted, and the parents of the children at these facilities will be directly contacted “as soon as possible” by Alberta Health Service (AHS) operators.
In addition, the CMOH says Vik Academy in Okotoks, which was one of the original facilities involved in the initial outbreak, is being closed once again as a ” precaution” pending test results.
“To all the parents involved in this terrible situation, we hear you and understand what you are going through,” Joffe’s statement continues.
“However, it is crucial for parents who have children who attend these daycares [to] follow the guidance being given to them by health care professionals. If your daycare is closed, please respect why this is done and keep your children at home. Only send your child to another facility if they have tested negative for E. coli and have no symptoms.”
The CMOH asks all daycare operators in the Calgary region to confirm the health and daycare history of children new to their facility.
“By working together and following health guidance, we will stop this outbreak.”
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In an email obtained by CityNews, Active Start says AHS let operators know a family registered at the facility who came from one of the original daycares from the initial outbreak.
It states that AHS asked families affected by the outbreak not to attend any other childcare facilities or public spaces until they received a “formal letter from AHS that would clear them.”
“For privacy reasons, AHS did not communicate this list to other childcare centers, ultimately leaving it to those families to comply,” the email reads.
“Unfortunately, we were informed today (Friday) by AHS that one such family registered and started in our Starfish room in September. Although there are no children in the Starfish room that are presenting any symptoms, AHS has told us that they are taking an aggressive approach in order to be extra cautious and ensure we do not have an outbreak at our centre.”
Active Start says it will be working with AHS on Saturday to determine which children and staff were in close contact during the applicable period.
Watch: E. coli outbreak considered to be largest in AB
There have been 337 lab-confirmed cases of the bacterial infection related to the declared outbreak on Sept. 4.
Twelve children were still in hospital as of Friday, 10 of whom have hemolytic uremic syndrome — a complication affecting the blood and kidneys.
Six of those children were receiving dialysis.
