MADISON, Wis. —After a recent outbreak at a day care center in Dane County, 16 children have tested positive for the COVID-19 U.K. variant.
Continuing Coverage: Coronavirus in Wisconsin
Public Health Madison and Dane County contact tracing revealed that the disease spread quickly amongst the children, as well as parents and day care staff.
As of Tuesday, 35 cases of the COVID-19 U.K. variant were linked to the childcare facility, with nearly half of those being children 6-years-old and younger.
“I hope that all of their teachers did take part in getting vaccinated. Its scary to think that a lot of people have this misconception that our children wont be touched by this virus,” said Anna Pakalske, a mother of two children in Milwaukee.
Health experts say the COVID-19 U.K. variant is 50% more contagious, raising an alarm for a spike in possible cases statewide and around the country.
“If you get infected today with the new variant, you may be more than 60% likely to be hospitalized or to die from that infection. This is also why getting vaccinated now is so critical,” said Dr. Ben Weston, Milwaukee County’s director of medical services.
WISN 12 News spoke with several local day care centers that said their COVID-19 protocols remain in place, and a top priority continues to be keeping children, staff, as well as their families safe.
As Milwaukee Public Schools prepare to welcome students back to in-person learning next week, health officials have reassured the community that effective measures are being taken to keep students safe in classrooms.
“Theres significant effort given to making sure kids are masked potentially even wearing shields, spacing, distancing in the classroom to ensure we can limit the spread as best as we can,” said Milwaukee Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson.
One Milwaukee parent told WISN 12 News that she is ready to send her 10-year-old child back to in-person learning.
“Very confident, and I know the school is taking all proper measures to keeping everyone safe,” Shakeya Farmer said.
According to health officials, vaccine trials for younger children are still underway.
In Wisconsin, everyone 16-years-old and older is eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
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