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Fayetteville child care center dealing with COVID-19 cluster

Fayetteville Observer - 6/24/2020

Jun. 24--A Sunshine House child care center in Fayetteville is among three facilities in North Carolina dealing with a COVID-19 cluster, state health officials said Tuesday.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services released its first report on ongoing coronavirus clusters in child care and school settings.

According to the report, there are four known clusters, including six cases at Sunshine House on Cliffdale Road.

The facility's cases involve five staff members and one child, according to the state report.

The company was notified June 8 that three people at the center had tested positive for coronavirus, according to an emailed statement from company spokeswoman Barbra Anderson-Richardson.

"Upon learning this news, we immediately contacted the Department of Public Health and other local health officials for guidance and recommendations on next steps," the release said. "We also informed all team members and families attending our school on Cliffdale Road."

After the school closed on June 8, the company learned of three additional positive results from people at the Cliffdale location.

In a child care or school setting, a COVID-19 cluster is defined as a minimum of five laboratory-confirmed cases with illness onsets or initial positive results within a 14-day period and plausible epidemiologic linkage between cases. A cluster is considered over if there is no evidence of continued transmission within the setting.

The clusters currently reported are in Cumberland, Mecklenburg, New Hanover and Iredell counties.

The Cliffdale location is temporarily closed and is scheduled to reopen Monday. According to the release, the building, classrooms and playgrounds have all undergone a deep cleaning.

There are five Sunshine House locations in Cumberland County.

"Since the beginning of this global pandemic, we have always adhered to the guidance set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and have been in full compliance with all mandates from local and state health departments," the release said.

"We have strengthened our health and safety practices based on current guidance and recommendations from the CDC, state and local officials and departments of health to ensure we maintain a safe and healthy environment. This includes temperature checks and health screenings, restricted classroom access, ongoing deep cleaning and regular sanitizing procedures known to mitigate the spread of COVID-19."

DHHS says it will update the data each week by 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.

As of June 22, there have been 1,051 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Cumberland County.

"Our thoughts are with our (Sunshine House) team members and families -- and anyone in Fayetteville and beyond dealing with the impacts of COVID-19, and we wish them a speedy and complete recovery," the release said.

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com.

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