Day care with E. coli outbreak still closed

VANCOUVER, Wash. — A Vancouver day care center remains closed after a deadly outbreak of E. coli killed a 4-year-old boy and sickened three other children.

Elizabeth Winter with the Washington state Department of Early Learning said her agency suspended Dianne Fletch last week because she cared for a child even after health officials closed Fletch Family Daycare on April 2.

Winter said the center won’t be allowed to reopen — even if health officials clear it — until the state completes its investigation.

Fletch’s husband, Larry, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the boy who showed up at the center after it was closed was there for only a short time and there was no risk to him.

Larry Fletch said he hoped to reopen the center and added, “This has been a phenomenal hardship on all of our families.”