COVID-19 outbreak shuts down daycare in Granby

More than two dozen children and staff at a daycare in Granby — the Centre de la petite enfance (CPE) Le Soleil de Jeannot — have contracted COVID-19. 

Eastern Townships Public Health Director Dr. Alain Poirier said small outbreaks in daycare centres are not unexpected because children cannot be vaccinated, but that the size of this outbreak is a surprise.

"In this case it's quite a major one," he said. 

Poirier said his department is operating under the assumption these are cases of delta variant. 

"We consider the situation as though it was a variant," Poirier said. "We don't have any information yet, but we always work like if it's a variant." 

The daycare's director, Myriam Urquizo-Grégoire, says she was told by public health last Friday that there was a case at the daycare. Some parents and families were told to get tested over the weekend, and by Monday, there were 12 confirmed cases. 

"It's surprising there are so many cases considering the clear sanitary measures outlined by public health," she said. 

Public health is doing contact tracing and investigating the outbreak. Recommendations to those affected vary, depending on how close the contact was and whether people are fully vaccinated. 

People who have already received both doses of the vaccine do not have to isolate themselves, but anyone who is not fully inoculated needs to be extra safe. 

There are some 60 families who have children at Le Soleil de Jeannot, and all are being asked to get tested. 

Poirier said the good news is none of the infected children or staff are seriously ill, but he said the CPE will stay shut down for a couple weeks regardless, to stem the spread. 

Poirier says despite the good news that the children are not showing serious symptoms, outbreaks like these are why it's important for parents and grandparents to be vaccinated. 

He also says he worries the outbreak will lead to community transmission with less than 70 per cent of Townshippers being fully vaccinated, and statistically more contact between people this summer than last year. 

"We need everywhere in the province to increase the number of people who are vaccinated," he said. 

Urquizo-Grégoire says she doesn't know who on her staff has or has not been vaccinated, but that while the daycare is closed, her team is helping to support the families, and will be ready to reopen in a couple weeks.