MADISON, Wisconsin (WMTV) – About three dozen people have been linked to an outbreak of COVID-19 at a Dane Co. daycare center, where a more contagious form of the virus was also detected.
According to Public Health Madison & Dane Co., of the 35 people who tested positive so far, 21 were children or center workers. In addition, 14 relatives of children or workers have also tested positive.
The agency did not disclose the name of the daycare.
Health officials noted that most infected children had “very mild symptoms,” which they said demonstrated the importance of testing children with coronavirus symptoms.
“We know that variants are more infectious and younger children still cannot be vaccinated, so this is an important reminder that we should all continue to take precautions,” said PHMDC Director Janel Heinrich.
The variant found in the outbreak is the B.1.1.7 variety, which was first discovered in England, PHMDC said. It is the most common of the variants found in Wisconsin, with more than 139 cases reported in the state as of Thursday.
Also Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an early draft of a report on an outbreak that followed an act of reopening bars in rural Illinois. Several dozen people became infected and the average number of new cases doubled.
correction: The original version of this story indicated that there were 16 infected family members, based on PHMDC numbers. It has been corrected to 14, making the total number of infected 35.
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