AHS said each of the 11 affected locations will be able to open this week, starting Monday with four facilities that had no cases identified
Four Calgary daycares shuttered amid a large-scale E. coli outbreak that infected dozens of children are scheduled to reopen on Monday, with health officials noting the facilities didn’t see a single case of the bacterial infection.
As of Sunday, AHS has linked 190 cases to the outbreak, which prompted the closure of 11 local child-care facilities. Twenty-seven people are in hospital, and 20 have been confirmed to have hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a severe disease that affects the kidneys and blood clotting systems.
AHS said each of the 11 affected locations will be able to open this week, starting Monday with four facilities that had no cases identified.
Fueling Brains Bridgeland, Little Oak Early Education, Almond Branch, and Braineer Academy will resume operations Monday morning “as long as no one from the site tests positive for (E. coli) before this time,” AHS said.
“Public health inspectors have assessed the readiness of these four facilities to reopen and ensured that they have taken appropriate measures such as cleaning and disinfection,” said the health authority.
Closure orders for the seven locations where cases were identified — Vik Academy in Okotoks, Kidz Space and Fueling Brains campuses Braeside, West 85th, New Brighton, Centennial and McKnight — will be lifted Tuesday. But health officials say children and staff attending those locations, even if they’ve had no gastrointestinal symptoms, must test negative for E. coli and be cleared by health officials before returning.
“Based on the epidemiology of the cases we’ve seen to date, it is highly likely the source of this outbreak is food that was distributed from the central kitchen,” said AHS in a Sunday statement. “At this point, AHS has not been able to identify a food item that was the source.”
The kitchen remains closed as AHS continues to investigate.
A statement of claim for a potential class action lawsuit was filed Friday, naming the daycares and their shared kitchen. The claim alleges “negligent, unsanitary and unsafe food storage, preparation and handling practices” led to the infections.
Government officials speak on outbreak
“My heart also goes out to the families of these little ones. Thank you to all the frontline workers who’ve been working tirelessly to treat and care for these children,” said Smith. “I’ve asked the Minister of Health, Adrianna LaGrange and the Minister of Children and Family Services, Searle Turton to do a full assessment of this outbreak to ensure steps are taken to prevent this from happening in the future.”
For further information, affected families can go to ahs.ca/ecoli.
— With files from Bill Kaufmann
