Los Angeles

14 Infants at Santa Monica Day Care Quarantined After Baby Contracts Measles

More than a dozen infants enrolled at a Santa Monica day care center were quarantined after a baby was confirmed to have measles, officials said Monday.

The Santa Monica High School Infant Toddler Center was closed Monday until further notice, two days after the center was alerted that a child under 1-year-old who attends came down with the virus, officials said.

The baby was too young to be vaccinated.

Fourteen infants under the age of 12-months-old who were exposed to the baby will be quarantined for 21 days, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District spokeswoman Gail Pinsker said.

The day care center serves school staff, community members and three teen parents who attend the high school.

A letter went out to parents of the 24 children enrolled in the day care, for children aged 6 months to 3 years, officials said.

It's the second case of measles at the school -- a high school coach was diagnosed with measles in January, but school was kept open after officials determined students were at low risk for contracting the highly infections virus.

Jalil Norman, a student at Santa Monica High School, said he was relieved when he discovered he had been vaccinated.

"I asked my mom... once I heard about the measles outbreak... did I get my measles shots?' "She said 'yes... thank God,'" Norman said.

Vanessa Ruiz, and City News Service contributed to this report.

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