Vancouver kids cafe owner taking some extra steps, in light of measles outbreak
Posted February 26, 2019 3:33 pm.
Last Updated February 26, 2019 7:44 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – With 13 confirmed cases of measles in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, a cafe in Vancouver that’s geared towards families with young children is taking a few extra precautions.
Vivian Sue-A-Quan is the owner of Circus Play Cafe in East Vancouver. She says with 13 cases confirmed in B.C. this year, she’s very worried about tots being exposed to the disease.
The space is a busy play area, with kids aged 0 to pre-Kindergarten. The first dose of measles vaccine can only be given in B.C. after a child’s first birthday. The second can be given between the ages of 4 and 6.
“I’m also a mother of two and I’m pregnant with my third one. This is my personal concern, on top of my business concern,” she said.
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She says all small toys are sanitized daily and they santize high-traffic areas on a regular basis. “As a mother, I understand the concern. Our space is cleaned every day and we have deep cleaners coming twice a week. This is just our basic sanitation policy.”
Sue-A-Quan says they’ve added more measures in an effort to prevent the spread of disease. “We’ve also put up posters to encourage if any adults or kids have symptoms — cold or sneezing or red eyes — we advise them to stay at home and then we’ll welcome them back after that passes.”
“Since the measles is an airborne virus infection, we also brought out an air purifier, hoping that will also help clean the air,” she said, though she admitted she’s not sure how effective that measure is.
They also encourage hand-washing and have a “dirty toy” bin so those items that may have been loved a bit too much by infants can be cleaned right away.
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She is not requiring parents bring proof of vaccination before coming into the cafe. But she says if vaccinations were required for kids to attend school, she would feel comfortable implementing such a policy at the cafe.
Earlier this week, Gold’s Gym announced that parents will not be allowed to use its Kid’s Club childminding service at its Metro Vancouver locations if the children have not been vaccinated.
The club’s daycare areas are closed Monday and Tuesday this week for disinfection and the new policy requiring proof of vaccination comes into effect on Wednesday. Babies that are too young to receive the shot will not be allowed into the gym’s childminding area until further notice.
– With files from Hana Mae Nassar and Lasia Kretzel
