"It was very distressing for us and for all the families. It was quite a roller-coaster ride for us emotionally because, for the first few days, everyone wasn't sure of the severity of the events," said Hoyt Sangtian, the co-owner of Braineer Academy.
Sangtian says though no E. coli cases have been connected back to Braineer Academy, they were closed and ordered to conduct a deep clean of the space before children and staff could return. With the caterer beloved to be the source of the outbreak, Sangtian says his northwest daycare cut ties with the central kitchen and the only food offerings now included are pre-packaged, commercially-bought snacks and food parents provide for their own child.
"As soon as we heard from AHS with the closure order, we terminated our contract with the caterer," he said.Seven daycares in Calgary and Okotoks are still listed as closed under the AHS exclusion order. Alberta's Health Minister and Chief Medical Officer of Health are among those scheduled to speak at a 9a.m. update about the E. coli outbreak in Calgary on Tuesday.