COVID-19 Outbreak At Dane County Child Care Center Leads To 35 People Testing Positive

What local public health officials are calling a “large outbreak” fueled by a more contagious strain of COVID-19 has been linked to a Dane County child care center where it spread to kids, their parents and workers.

As of Monday afternoon, 16 children age 6 and under had tested positive, along with five child care workers. Fourteen family members of children and workers were also infected. Several dozen more close contacts were identified from the 35 people who tested positive.

Public Health Madison & Dane County has not publicly identified the facility, but said it did not close because of the outbreak.

Infections at the child care center included the more contagious B.1.1.7 variant, and contact tracing revealed the virus spread quickly. Most of the children had mild symptoms, according to a press release from Public Health Madison & Dane County.

Children under the age of 16 cannot be vaccinated yet. Public health officials say this is why others need to take precautions by getting vaccinated and getting tested for COVID-19 if they have symptoms.

Asymptomatic children who have a known exposure or household case should also be tested.

“As more and more adults are vaccinated, I hope we are able to form a circle of protection around our children so that everyone in our community can stay healthy,” said Public Health Madison & Dane County Director Janel Heinrich.

The B.1.1.7 variant is currently the most dominant strain in Wisconsin and across the U.S. As of last week, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services had recorded 139 cases of this particular virus mutation.

Variants are prevalent in Florida, Michigan and Minnesota. Unvaccinated travelers returning to Wisconsin from recent travel are encouraged to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention travel guidelines, which include getting tested three to five days after returning from travel and staying home and self-quarantining for a full seven days after travel.