With the heightened concerns surrounding the spread of the 2019-nCoV Novel Coronavirus and COVID-19 illness, we wanted to share with you our current sanitary practices and we will be implementing enhancements effective immediately.  We are closely monitoring and working alongside of our community health partners and will modify and enhance procedures if necessary and will let our families know if we are instructed to do anything different.

Current practices:

• Thorough Health Checks are done upon drop off, and any illness is noted in child’s record;
• Ensuring proper handwashing is being done before and after all transitions;
• Children demonstrating ill symptoms along with a fever (as defined by the Canadian Paediatric Society as a fever of 38 degrees Celsius) will be excluded from the program and parents/caregivers will be asked to pick them up;
• Any staff member who is not well, are asked to stay home;
• Food prep is done by staff adhering to all proper food handling procedures included no food prep by staff who have any symptoms of ill health;
• Sanitization of all tables before and after use;
• Sanitization of toys upon need;
• Weekly sanitization of all toys and surfaces;
• Tracking of children/staff illnesses for Public Health .

Enhanced practices:

• Parents will be asked to wash their hands and their children’s hands when entering the classroom and before departure at all locations;
• The staff of Waterdown District Children’s Centre (at 215 Parkside Drive) will disinfect “high-touch” surfaces 2-3 times daily (or when needed), wiping down/disinfecting all outdoor equipment before/after use;
• Parents/caregivers are required to inform our staff about any travel that has taken place by ANY person inside the child’s home;
• Suspension of group sensory activities including playdough;
• Suspension of children’s own cups (when applicable);  We will be providing disposable cups for children who don’t require a “sippy” cup to drink out of.  Sippy cups will be kept in child’s cubbies to avoid any cross contamination throughout the day.

For your information, Hamilton Public Health Services recommends all people take these everyday actions to prevent all types of respiratory illness:

• washing your hands often with soap and water,
• avoiding close contact with people who are sick,
• staying home when you are sick,
• covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue,
• avoid touching your face, eyes, mouth,
• cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Should any family member exhibit symptoms of fever, new chronic cough, difficulty breathing or pneumonia in combination with any potential exposure such as travel; then you should immediately contact Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000 or the Hamilton Public Health Unit at 905-546-3500 for further assessment.

If there are any questions or concerns regarding this information, please do not hesitate to contact me at anytime.  Thank-you