A Child at Marshfield Clinic Health System YMCA Child Care Center Test Positive for COVID-19
Wednesday, June 10th, 2020 -- 11:15 AM
(Marshfield News Herald) -A child participating in the Marshfield Clinic Health System YMCA Child Care Center tested positive for COVID-19, according to health officials, closing down a portion of the center and leading to the quarantine of about 40 staff members and other participants.The child showed no symptoms of coronavirus infection, said Sue Kunferman, director and health officer for the Wood County Health Department, but tested positive for the virus on Friday. The child is under quarantine, as are all the children and staff members who came in direct contact with the child while the child was at the center, Kunferman said. Those people will be asked to isolate for 14 days from the last time they came in direct contact with the child. The YMCA shut down the portion of the child care center the child was in; other portions, where no contact with the child was made, remain open. The YMCA also has taken solid steps to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Kunferman said. Staff members wear face coverings. Staff members also do their best to keep children at a safe distance apart, she said, "although it is very difficult to manage social distancing with children." Surfaces are constantly being wiped down and kept clean, as well. John Nystrom, chief executive officer of the Marshfield Area YMCA, said in a media statement that YMCA leaders are "treating this matter with the utmost concern" and closed the Child Care Center while health officials did contact tracing, an effort to find the people who might have come in direct contact with the child and at risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19 themselves.
The child lives in Marathon County, Kunferman said, but the Wood County Health Department is involved because the YMCA is in that jurisdiction. The general fitness facilities of the YMCA remain open, Kunferman said, because the child did not visit any of those portions of the building. Health officials have advised the people under quarantine to contact their health providers to get tested for COVID-19 if they develop symptoms of the illness, which include: fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing and fatigue. The case underscores the need for people to take precautions against spreading coronavirus, even as businesses and organizations open up, Kunferman said. She encourages people to wear a face covering in public, especially in areas where maintaining a distance of six feet is difficult; to wash their hands regularly; and if a person does have symptoms, to stay away from other people and call their health providers.
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