An Illinois daycare employee tested positive for the monkeypox virus, suggesting that the staff and kids at the middle might have been potentially exposed to the disease. 

Health officials announced Friday that an adult worker at a daycare in Rantoul, Illinois, near Champaign, had tested positive for monkeypox, prompting health care personnel to screen the staff and kids in the power who may need been potentially exposed. 

“An adult at a daycare center within the Rantoul area has tested positive for a case of monkeypox. Screenings of youngsters and other staff are going down now, and no additional cases have been found right now,” Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director Dr. Sameer Vohra was quoted as saying by Fox News. 

Local officials deployed all available state, local, and federal resources to help the families of the kids and staff. Pediatricians were sent to assist screen the kids. Health officials will remain involved with families in the approaching days for extra information and resources. 

Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) administrator Julie Pryde urged people to clean their hands steadily and get vaccinated in the event that they imagine they’ve been exposed to the virus. 

“Monkeypox just isn’t airborne, it’s primarily spread through close skin-to-skin contact. But it might probably even be spread by droplets during prolonged close contact and thru contact with items that will have been contaminated similar to towels or bedding. It is a virus and viruses don’t discriminate on who they affect,” Pryde said. 

“It is your usual things that we at all times say, and the primary thing is you mostly washing your hands very well. If someone has a case, and we find out about them then we have now very specific instructions on our website on how you can isolate safely in the house with other people,” she added. 

Except for the daycare, the person who tested positive for monkeypox “also works in a house health care,” so health officials have been involved with one client affected by the difficulty, as per ABC News. 

As of late, the daycare employee is in isolation and monitored by doctors. Officials said he seemed to be doing well. 

The news comes only a day after U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration declared the present monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency within the U.S.