UPDATE: This story has been updated as of 2:12 pm, March 13, to reflect Wesley Learning Center is closed until further notice.

UPDATE: This story has been updated as of 11:18 am, March 15, to reflect Trinity Day School is closed until further notice.

UPDATE: This story has been updated as of 11:42 am, March 16, to reflect Little Explorers of Newtown is closed for two weeks.

A number of Newtown’s preschools report they are continuing sanitation protocols amid rising community concern around COVID-19.

With Newtown Public Schools closed on Friday, March 13, for a professional development day, some local preschools noted more families were keeping children home, noting it is most likely because parents were staying home with older siblings out of school.

“We want to maintain a healthy atmosphere here,” Little Explorers of Newtown Director Elaine Ulatowski said, adding that the child care center is consulting with physicians and doctors.

Ulatowski said the focus is on trying to make educated and responsible decisions for what is best for the center while being a responsible member of the community.

Ulatowski shared on March 16 that Little Explorers of Newtown will be closed for two weeks.

At Children’s Adventure Center, Director Anna Ruggiero said she is waiting to hear protocols from the state.

Merryhill Child Care Center Director Karen Tuller said, “As of right now, we’re just doing what we need to do.”

Handwashing, sanitizing, cleaning, and monitoring children and staff for any symptoms while keeping in touch with the local health department and government are priorities right now, Tuller said.

After saying Misty Morning Children’s Center has been focusing on cleaning and sanitizing, Director Donna Kroha said, “We’ve always done it that way. The state requires it.”

Both the State of Connecticut and National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), an accreditation agency, require cleaning protocols normally, Kroha added.

The morning of March 13, Wesley Learning Center Director Diane Fuchs said her center was waiting to see what the town’s decisions would be concerning COVID-19. The center sent papers home with children so families will have work packets in the event of a closure. “For today,” she said, the center is open and “we are taking it one day at a time.”

By the afternoon on March 13 Fuchs announced Wesley Learning Center was closed "until further notice," following the Newtown Public Schools being closed starting March 16 "until further notice."

Trinity Day School Director Michelle Macey sent a message to parents on March 12 to reassure them that thorough cleaning was happening daily.

“Our state regulations require that all surfaces are cleaned and then disinfected/sanitized daily,” Macey wrote. “We use a bleach solution, and follow up with Lysol where necessary. Any items that can be laundered are laundered at the end of each week. This has been our protocol all along, but we are now being extra-vigilant.”

Trinity Day School then announced on March 14 that it is closed until further notice.