2 more Charlotte child care centers report COVID-19 clusters
Two more day care centers for children in Charlotte have reported COVID-19 clusters, according to a Mecklenburg County news release on Friday.
The two centers — Building Blocks Learning Center and Little Tots Preschool — join a third child care facility on the list of local coronavirus clusters. Cases at Kindercare at 1700 Providence Road were first reported by the county health department on July 10 and the location is still considered an ongoing cluster.
The state Department of Health and Human Services considers a cluster of COVID-19 cases a minimum of five lab-confirmed cases that set in within two weeks and show plausible links between cases. A cluster is considered over 28 days after the last date of onset in a symptomatic person, or the last test date of an asymptomatic person, according to the state.
Patricia Ordonez, the program director at Little Tots Preschool, said the facility is a home-based preschool. She said the organization immediately notified the health department after learning a child enrolled in the program tested positive for COVID-19.
Little Tots also moved into a 14-day isolation after learning about the positive COVID-19 test, Ordonez said. The facility has stayed open through much of the pandemic to provide childcare for many essential workers, she said.
“Communication was definitely a key factor throughout this whole process,” Ordonez said. “…As of now, all of the families are doing OK.”
As of Friday, the state reported 11 total cases at Little Tots Preschool, including three cases in staff members and eight cases in children. The state reported 10 cases at Building Blocks Learning Center, including seven in staff and three in children. Nine total cases were reported at Kindercare — two in staff members and five in children.
In the last month, at least two other childcare centers in Mecklenburg County reported COVID-19 clusters, according to the state. COVID-19 clusters at Smart Kids Childcare Center #3 and Heaven’s Angels Childcare were last reported active on July 15 and July 30, respectively.
This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 2:29 PM.
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