LUBBOCK, Texas — EverythingLubbock.com acquired a copy of a letter from the City of Lubbock to parents of kids who attend Stepping Stones daycare.
UPDATED Story Link: Stepping Stones says child with exposure to known case tested negative for COVID-19
The letter on Wednesday said the daycare had an exposure on March 31 to COVID-19.
EverythingLubbock.com learned that one child was exposed through a family member. The child has not yet tested positive, as of Wednesday afternoon, but officials and the daycare are bracing for a positive test result.
“The management and staff of Stepping Stones take this exposure very seriously, and have already taken steps to address this issue, including a thorough cleaning of the facility,” the city’s letter said.
EverythingLubbock.com also obtained a letter from the Stepping Stones. Both are copied below.
The following is the text of the letter sent to parents by the city:
April 1, 2020
To Whom It May Concern,
This is to notify you that you and/or your child may have been exposed to Covid-19. There was an exposure associated with Stepping Stones daycare facility on March 31, 2020. The management and staff of Stepping Stones take this exposure very seriously, and have already taken steps to address this issue, including a thorough cleaning of the facility.
Management will continue to monitor all staff and students for any signs of illness and take the appropriate measures. We encourage you also to monitor yourselves and your children for any signs of illness, including a fever of 100.4 degrees or higher, a dry cough, or shortness of breath.
The leadership of Stepping Stones is working closely with the City of Lubbock Health Department to minimize the risk to other students and families at this facility. If you have questions, you can call the Health Department at 775-2933 and select option 1.
Thank you,
Katherine Wells, Director City of Lubbock Health Department
The following is the text of the letter sent to parents by Stepping Stones:
April 1, 2020
Stepping Stones Families,
In the interest of transparency we wanted to notify everyone that a child was brought to the facility after having direct contact with a family member who tested positive for COVID-19. In addition, the family member broke their quarantine and dropped the child off at the school without disclosing their diagnosis. The child has not received a positive test yet but there is reason to believe that the student’s test result will be positive. We are speaking with and asking that the teachers and the families of the children that had high risk exposure start a 14 day voluntary quarantine. If the student does test positive, anyone who had high risk exposure will be followed up with by the health department. If you have not been personally contacted outside of this letter, then your child is considered no to low risk at this time. We have been and will continue to be in close communication with both the health department and our local Child Care Licensing office.
We have not been instructed nor mandated to close, however out of an abundance of caution we will be closing Stepping Stones April 2nd and 3rd, 2020. We will be using these days to take additional sanitation steps.The exposure was limited to the child’s classroom however, safety is our primary concern, especially in these uncertain times. We plan on reopening April 6th 2020 for students that were at no to low risk exposures. Upon reopening we will continue to follow the abundance of precautionary steps that we have already put into place. We ask that every family watch their child closely for symptoms and immediately notify us and the health department if you notice any.
We have a great community here at Stepping Stones and it is up to each and every one of us to keep our environment as safe as possible for all of our families. Attached you will find a letter from the health department with further information. Please read this carefully. If you have further questions in regard to COVID-19 please contact the Health Department.
Kind Regards,
Stepping Stones Staff
2433 26th Street
Lubbock, TX 79411
CORRECTION: The letter was sent Wednesday.
