Two Tacoma day cares temporarily close after COVID-19 outbreak

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — Two Tacoma day care facilities will temporarily close after a COVID-19 outbreak affecting two staff members and three children, according to a Tacoma-Pierce Health Department blog post.

At the first facility, a worker who had access to classrooms tested positive for COVID-19, causing the facility to voluntarily close for two weeks.

The second facility had a staff member and three children test positive, also resulting in a voluntary two-week closure.

According to the post, both day care centers plan to clean and sanitize while shuttered. They have sent letters to families with the help of the health department.

Officials with the health department said the incidents at the facilities “underscore the message that COVID-19 can spread even in controlled environments.”

In the blog, it stated that it will take us all to defeat the virus and “to keep it at bay during flu season.” Below is a list of things health officials said we can do to drive disease trends lower:

• Wear a mask when you leave home. No shirt, no shoes, no mask? No service.
• Limit your interactions to a small circle of friends and family.
• Stay close to home.
• Keep gatherings small and outside if possible.
• Fresh air and physical distance help keep you safe.
• Wash your hands, cover your cough, and keep up your best hygiene and sanitation.
• Get tested if:

1. - You think you were exposed.
2. - You are an Alaska Native, American Indian, Black or African American, Latinx, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.
3. - You have been in large gatherings of any sort.
4. - You are experiencing symptoms.

Cox Media Group