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Child care advocates may be worried by what they call “alarming reports” of Covid-19 at a Brattleboro Head Start program, but local and state officials say Vermont’s only such incident wasn’t an outbreak. The two cases were quickly contained before speculation turned them into something larger, officials said.
Two employees caring for six children of essential workers tested positive for the coronavirus on separate dates in early May, spurring immediate closure of a classroom and testing that found everyone else negative.
“We have very strict protocols in place, and all were followed,” said Debra Gass, executive director of Early Education Services for the Windham Southeast School District. “We went above and beyond what we were required to do.”
But officials since have read public commentaries related to this month’s reopening of Vermont child care centers that mention the Brattleboro incident in more concerning ways.
In an essay titled “Child care reopen plan is unsafe,” Kit Harrington of the Coalition of Families for Vermont’s Future noted “alarming reports of a Covid outbreak in a center in Brattleboro point to a worrying lack of accountability and public reporting.”
Officials take issue with that assessment. Gass said when one teacher reported testing positive May 7, the district — which conducts daily temperature checks — immediately closed the classroom and contacted the Health Department.
A second staffer tested positive May 11. All six children and six other employees tested negative.
The state conducted an investigation as well as contact tracing.
“Through these efforts, it was determined to not be an outbreak, and the facility action to close ensured no further community spread,” Vermont Health Department spokesman Ben Truman said this week.
Asked if that meant the two employees contracted the virus separately outside the classroom, officials said they couldn’t comment further because of federal health information privacy laws.
“Our first priority is people’s health and safety,” Truman said. “If there’s a public concern going on in a community, we make sure people know.”
Officials report that four children have tested positive statewide, with none associated with child care centers, requiring hospitalization or involving multisystem inflammatory syndrome, a rare condition linked to the coronavirus.
The Brattleboro incident is the only Covid-19 report so far involving Vermont child care centers, most which have been closed. Only a few have remained open to serve families of essential workers.
The Windham Southeast School District’s Early Education Services counted 184 children and 70 staffers when the pandemic hit. All of its programs are taking place remotely with hopes for a “soft” reopening June 15. But that’s dependent on enough employees returning.
“Some teachers are saying they’re not able to,” Gass said.
The challenge is balancing the concerns of staffers and parents.
“We are between a rock and a hard place,” Gass said. “The families we work with are, by and large, frontline workers. We are following all of the guidelines and protocols that are set forth for us to the letter and then some. While this is not an ideal situation, we are in the business of supporting families.”
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