By Jessica Anstice
Parents and guardians were told to keep their children home after a staff member from a Pakenham childcare centre tested positive to coronavirus.
The Learning Sanctuary Pakenham was notified by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that a team member had returned a positive test on Wednesday 17 June.
It’s believed the person attended the childcare facility, on McGregor Road, for one day while infectious.
As advised by DHHS, the childcare centre temporarily closed for the remainder of the week.
DHHS undertook contact tracing to identify which staff members and children may have had close contact with the confirmed case.
The centre also underwent a professional deep clean and decontamination.
As of Thursday morning, there were five active cases of the virus within the Cardinia shire.
“We are still seeing transmission in households and other settings. It remains critical to practice good hygiene – wash your hands regularly and cough and sneeze into a tissue or your elbow and try to avoid touching your face,” Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton said.
“Stay 1.5 metres away from anyone you don’t live with and avoid crowds, especially indoors. If you can keep working from home – you must keep working from home.
“And if you do feel unwell with any symptoms of coronavirus you should get tested. This includes fever, chills, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose or loss of sense of smell.”
