Alamance County Health Department has identified a COVID-19 cluster at The Growing Years Learning Center in Burlington. Currently, seven (7) cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed at the facility. The confirmed cases are among four (4) staff and three (3) children. Three of the four staff are not Alamance County residents so they are not included in the daily COVID-19 case count, however they are included on the biweekly Child Care and School Settings report for NC DHHS.  NC DHHS defines a cluster as minimum of five laboratory-confirmed cases with illness onsets or initial positive results within a 14-day period and plausible epidemiologic linkage between cases.

“When we learned of the first case, we immediately closed the center for additional disinfecting, informed our families and staff, and contacted the Public Health Department for further guidance,” stated Regional Director, Krista Hurlbut. “We have followed the instructions we received from that department and are remaining closed longer than required by the health department as an additional precaution. We look forward to welcoming our families and staff back later this month.”

“Through case investigation, we were able to identify the cluster, even with multiple staff members living outside of the county, and recommend testing and assistance to trace close contacts,” stated Alexandria Rimmer Interim Health Director. “We will continue collaborating together to protect the staff and children by working to mitigate the outbreak.”

Alamance County Health Department identified its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on March 20. Since then, a total of 2643 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the community. Of those confirmed cases, 2367 have been released from isolation and 234 remain active and in isolation. Included in those active cases, 11 individuals are receiving care at a hospital. Sadly, there have been 42 COVID-19 related deaths. COVID-related deaths include only patients who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, and who died without fully recovering from the disease.

The community is reminded to limit their social and group interactions and practice the 3Ws – Wear, Wait and Wash. These important steps can reduce a person’s risk and the risk to their family, friends and neighbors.