YMCA announces child in preschool program tests positive for COVID-19

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NAUGATUCK — Naugatuck YMCA CEO Mark LaFortune announced Thursday that a preschooler in the organization’s child care center tested positive for COVID-19.

LaFortune said there are 28 children total in the preschool program. The children are divided into two groups of 14. The groups don’t interact with each other as part of precautions put in place amid the coronavirus pandemic, he said.

LaFortune said the children and staff that are in the group with the child that tested positive will stay home for at least 14 days before returning to the child care center. Both groups and their teachers will be tested as well, he said.

The preschool program is its own entity, and staff and children don’t come into contact with others in the YMCA, according to LaFortune. The YMCA will remain open, he said.

LaFortune said the YMCA is working with the Naugatuck Valley Health District and following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

“We will monitor the rest of our preschoolers, but with the close-knit nature of child care groups and our adherence to cohorts we believe that having the children within this pod, as well as the teachers, remain at home will help prevent the spread of COVID-19,” LaFortune said in a statement.