Freemans Reach pre-school visited by person with COVID – parents wait for NSW Health to contact them

Freemans Reach preschool Jasmin is closed for at least a week after someone with COVID attended the centre last week.

Co-owner Andrew Junor would not be drawn on whether the person with COVID is a staff member or child but said the infectious period had potentially been the whole week leading up to Sunday.

On Sunday, parents of children at the 25-year-old preschool in Linden Drive received an email from the owners Bonnie and Andrew Junor telling them “we have been advised somebody has tested positive for COVID-19 who was in attendance at preschool last week”.

The preschool is closed for a week, the email said, to “allow time for contact tracing and cleaning”.

All staff and children have been asked to self-isolate until they receive further notice.

“The duration of our closure is likely to see us re-opening on Monday, 6 September,” says the email. “If we can reopen earlier than this we will let you know.”

“While we recognise this will be disruptive and inconvenient for families, it is important that we follow NSW Health advice and take all necessary precautions to minimise the risk of further transmission to support our community,” says the email.

“We are receiving quite a few emails from families naturally concerned they haven’t been called by the Health Unit yet. We appreciate that this is anything but desirable, but please be patient and in the meantime seek out a test just to put your mind at ease,” said the email.

We talked to Mr Junor this evening – Monday – and he told us it had been a very stressful time. “It’s no-one’s fault,” he said, “and our parent community has been terrific. You just have to play the ball in front of you.”

All parents have been notified and are waiting for NSW Health to make contact. One concerned mum whose child goes to the centre told the Post, “we went and got a test straight away on Sunday when we got the first email and are self isolating for the 14 days as a precaution too, but we have heard nothing yet from NSW Health.”

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