Two more staff members at an emergency daycare in Yorkville have tested positive for COVID-19, Toronto’s top doctor confirmed Friday.
Earlier this week, city officials said that Jesse Ketchum Early Learning and Child Care Centre, near Davenport Road and Bay Street, would close for 14 days following an outbreak of the respiratory illness.
Officials previously confirmed that four staff members and an eight-month-old child at the child care centre tested positive for the virus.
Speaking at a news conference at city hall on Friday afternoon, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa told reporters that two more employees have subsequently tested positive for the disease, bringing the total number of infected staff to six.
Tests results for two of the children at the facility have come back negative, de Villa noted.
The centre is one of seven licensed facilities in Toronto that have been set up to provide care for the children of front-line health care workers and other essential employees.
“My team continues to work with Children’s Services and Public Health Ontario to manage this outbreak. This includes reviewing the infection, prevention and control protocols in place at these centres to see if changes can be made to prevent infections from spreading in these important centres,” de Villa said Friday.
“My team is completing a thorough investigation of all cases and their contacts to determine where they may have gotten their infection and to whom they may have spread it. This includes testing all staff and children who were at the centre between April 21 and April 28. Staff and children who attended the centre during this period are required to be in self-isolation for 14 days from their last day at the centre.”
Mayor John Tory previously called the outbreak at the facility “a sad reminder of the dangers of COVID-19 and some of its continuing unknowns.”
TPH failed to conduct contact tracing for some COVID-19 patients
De Villa said her team learned Thursday that they did not conduct contact tracing for 52 COVID-19 positive lab reports between March 31 and April 6.
She said all those patients were aware of their positive diagnosis and were in self-isolation at the time.
"This occurred unfortunately because there was an error in how these lab reports were received. Upon learning of this matter late yesterday evening, I immediately asked my team to take action to correct the situation," de Villa said, adding that she has asked her staff to determine how it happened and to ensure it will not happen again.
She said there is no increased risk to the community.
"I am committed to being honest and transparent with you, not only because you deserve that from me, but because this is core to who I am," de Villa said. "You are all my patients and protecting your health is my top priority."
