OTTAWA -- The City of Ottawa says a COVID-19 outbreak at a City-run daycare has ended.

In a memo sent Friday night, General Manager of Community and Social Services Donna Gray said Ottawa Public Health confirmed the end of the outbreak.

"There have been no new child or staff cases reported at the Centre," Gray said. "We welcomed back the children and staff to our program on Friday, November 27."

A staff member who was last at work on Nov. 4 had tested positive for COVID-19. The City announced the case on Nov. 9 and said the preschool cohort of the daycare would be closed as of Nov. 10.

According to Ottawa Public Health's COVID-19 dashboard, the outbreak at the Esther By Child Care centre began Nov. 9. As of Nov. 26, two children and one staff member have tested positive for COVID-19, linked to the outbreak. The outbreak is still listed as active on the dashboard but OPH sometimes takes a day or two to update outbreak status online.

In Friday's memo, Gray said several steps were taken to ensure a safe reopening, including a full cleaning and disinfection of the centre and making sure there was enough personal protective equipment supplies in place for the reopening.

Gray said the City also updated the Ministry of Education's serious occurrence report and contacted families to let them know the daycare was reopening.

"The children and employees’ health and safety are our top priority and we will continue to follow the advice of our colleagues at OPH to ensure our people are protected while providing care and delivering essential services to the residents of Ottawa," Gray said. 

The outbreak at the Esther By Child Care Centre is presently the only COVID-19 outbreak at a childcare facility listed on OPH's dashboard. There are also six COVID-19 outbreaks at local schools and 21 outbreaks at long-term care homes, retirement homes, hospitals and other congregate settings in the city.