Savannah Christian Daycare Closed For Cleaning Following Death Of Student With Flu Symptoms

One family is dealing with an unthinkable pain; the loss of a child.  Their four-year old little girl died yesterday after suffering from flu-like symptoms.

The child attended pre-school at Savannah Christian Preparatory School.  Today, that building is closed halls silent in the daycare and pre-school building closed for cleaning and, certainly, grieving.

“We came together this morning as a team, staff hurting, hurting for our loss.  We had 253 in our center, 252 now.  That one has made an impression on our lives,“ the school’s director of daycare and pre-school, Ruth Rushing, holds back tears.

Ruth Rushing, director of the daycare and preschool talks about what they’re doing to help the little ones who will return on Wednesday to an empty seat in their classroom.

“We’re going to have counselors here on staff from other parts of the school to help the teacher in the classroom, to help the parents as they enter the classroom on Wednesday and the children when they start asking questions,” she explains.

Rushing says the child loved to run down the halls, which is what she’ll always remember.

“She was a little girl.  She was her daddy’s tom-boy, full of life, “I’ll see ya Monday,” Rushing pauses, “She will see us, but we won’t see her,”

A child who will be missed, but not forgotten.

There were extra counselors on hand at the campus elementary school today, where the pre-schooler’s sister attends.

The state does not recommend or require the school be closed, but officials decided to take no chances and take the time to do additional cleaning.

Specific Actions being taken at the school:

*Throwing out play dough, sand and water used in our interactive centers as well as any other items that could hold contamination. 

*Mopping or wiping down every orifice that students have access to including the walls and blinds.

*Using commercial grade cleaners and sanitizers that are proven effective in cleaning viruses, germs and/or bacteria that could pose a threat. 

* Limiting visitor’s access to our hallways to prevent exposure of any new germs as we clean and prepare for Wednesday.  We have even turned away parents who have come to enroll their students in the daycare and preschool. 

*Thoroughly cleaning the HVAC systems to cleanse the air systems. 

*Consulting with our suppliers to find new products that aggressively treat the air and hard surfaces with a longer lasting result.