4 staff, 8-month-old baby test positive for coronavirus at city daycare centre

Four staff members and an 8-month-old baby have tested positive for COVID-19 at a city-run child care centre.

City officials confirmed the outbreak Tuesday night at the Jesse Ketchum Early Learning and Child Care Centre.

Toronto Public Health officials tests on a second child have come back negative while they are awaiting the results on fifth staff member at the facility.

“This first incident in one of our child care centres is a sad reminder of the dangers of COVID-19 and some of its continuing unknowns,” Mayor John Tory said Wednesday. “And it’s a lesson to us all as we try to make plans to reopen and try to get back to normal in a safe and healthy way.”

“I can assure the families relying on these child care centres, and the people of Toronto, that the very highest standards were put in place from day one to try and prevent this kind of outbreak but obviously we have more to learn as is true of so many aspects of this virus.”

City officials said they were first alerted to the potential of an outbreak when two staff members called in sick. It was recommended that they go for testing.

As for the baby, officials say they did not present any symptoms when they were screened after showing up at the centre, as per protocols. However, the parents later informed the centre that the baby had begun to show symptoms and they were advised to get them tested.

“We’re concerned and certainly disappointed to hear of the circumstances and disappointed to have to close the centre because we know it was providing a much needed service to essential workers in our city,” said Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Eileen de Villa. “We look forward to continuing to provide that service, because we know how important it is.”

Premier Doug Ford on Wednesday called for every emergency child-care worker to be tested. They are not yet included in provincial guidelines for testing, beyond those who are showing symptoms, but the premier’s office said Ford has asked officials to develop a plan.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams has said that watching how the emergency child-care centres operate will factor into decisions about how and when to reopen them more broadly.

The Jesse Ketchum site is one of seven emergency child care centres that were kept open to care for the children of essential services workers.

The facility has suspended child-care services for 14 days to allow crews to clean and disinfect the building and public health officials have asked the staff and 58 children who attended the centre from April 21 to April 28 to self-isolate for the next two weeks and not attend any other child care facility.

The city’s other remaining emergency child-care centres will remain open. A list is available here.

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