Childcare centre closed after worker tests positive to COVID-19
A Melbourne childcare centre has been closed until further notice and will undergo thorough cleaning after one of its workers tested positive to COVID-19.
Families whose children attend the Guardian centre in Brighton East have been told that an educator developed flu-like symptoms on the weekend, and the centre was closed late on Monday afternoon after it had been confirmed as a case of coronavirus.
A sign outside the centre in Brighton East on Tuesday.Credit:Simon Schluter
“The centre has been given a complete disinfecting clean, as per health authority guidelines, and will reopen only when we are given clearance by [the health department],” Guardian Childcare and Education chief executive Warren Bright said.
In a further letter sent to families on Monday afternoon and seen by The Age, Mr Bright said there were yet to be any other confirmed cases at the centre.
The educator was last at the Centre Road facility on April 2, four days before the closure.
“Upon being notified of the team members [sic] positive result, we immediately contacted Department of Health and Human Services; Public Health Unit seeking advice,” Mr Bright wrote.
The Guardian centre in Brighton East will be closed until further notice.Credit:Simon Schluter
“At the time of writing we are still awaiting this advice. Given this delay we have decided to close the centre as a precaution.”
Mr Bright said the centre was professionally cleaned each day and apologised for the concern and inconvenience caused to families, describing the situation as “unprecedented in the sector and in the community”.
It is one of a number of cases of coronavirus with links to childcare in recent weeks, including the Rose of Sharon centre in Sydney that has confirmed 25 cases among the centre’s workers, children and other people who have come into contact with them.
Last month, another Guardian centre, in East Ivanhoe, was connected to a further two cases. Two parents at the centre tested positive to COVID-19 after making multiple visits there with their child in mid-March.
In that case, which is not thought to be linked to the recent infection, the centre remained open after management said it had received advice that the risk of transmission to children and other families was low.
Since then, the Victorian health department has expanded its COVID-19 testing criteria to include people working in childcare and early childhood education centres with symptoms of the disease.
A response on the latest COVID-19 case was sought from the Victorian health and education departments.