MADISON, Wisconsin (WMTV) – Nearly three dozen people have been linked to a COVID-19 outbreak at a Dane Co. child care center. in which a more contagious form of the virus was also detected.
According to Public Health Madison & Dane Co., of the 35 people who have tested positive so far, 21 were children or workers at the center. In addition, 14 family members of children or workers gave positive results.
The agency did not release the name of the child care center.
Health officials noted that most infected children had “very mild symptoms,” which they said demonstrate the importance of testing children who have any symptoms of coronavirus.
“We know that the variants are more infectious and younger children cannot be vaccinated yet, so this is an important reminder that we must 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 variant found in Wisconsin, with more than 139 cases reported in the state since Thursday.
Also Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an early draft of a report on an outbreak that followed a bar reopening event in rural Illinois. Dozens of people have been infected, and the average number of new cases has doubled.
correction: The original version of this story stated that there were 16 family members who were infected, based on PHMDC numbers. This has been corrected to 14, making the total number of infected 35.
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