The Yellow Springs Children's Community Center is temporarily closed due to a postive COVID-19 case in a student. (Photo by Jessica Thomas)
COVID closes YS Community Children’s Center again
- Published: November 10, 2021
The Yellow Springs Community Children’s Center announced Monday, Nov. 8, that it was closing its doors temporarily for the second time in three months due to COVID-19.
In an email to parents and guardians Monday morning, Executive Director Malissa Doster wrote that a child in one of the center’s toddler rooms had tested positive for the virus. Doster stated the child had not been at the center the previous three days.
Responding to questions from the News, Doster said the center received a phone call from the student’s parents that morning reporting the positive case.
In the initial email, Doster cited Greene County Public Health’s recommendation to keep the center closed for 10 days following the report of a positive case. However, in a second email sent to parents and guardians later that day, Doster said the health department will permit the facility to reopen as early as Monday, Nov. 15.
Doster said students and staff may return then as long as they are not showing any of the following symptoms of COVID-19: fever/chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
In the meantime, the county health department will follow contact tracing procedures. According to Doster, staff and students who had close contact with the student — that is, were within six feet of the student for at least 15 minutes — will likely be notified by the GCPH with further instruction.
“We are doing our best with the layered COVID protocols,” Doster told the News.
Earlier this year, an outbreak of positive cases among staff, students and parents forced the center to close from Monday, Aug. 23, to Friday, Sept. 3. According to Doster, six children withdrew from the center in connection to the outbreak.
Currently, 72 students are enrolled at the Children’s Center, which has a staff of 17. Doster declined to disclose staff vaccination statuses, citing medical confidentiality.
Most students enrolled at the Children’s Center are under 5 years of age; presently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend vaccinations for children 5 and older.
See the COVID-19 Update on page 9 and at ysnews.com for additional information on the virus and vaccine eligibility.
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