Summer camp closed due to 260 positive cases of coronavirus

Summer Camp coronavirus infection

By Fatima Virrey , Parent Herald Jul 31, 11:31 pm

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been actively campaigning health safety protocols to stop the further spread of the virus.

When summer began, the CDC also released guidelines for youth and summer camps.

They even released a video educating campers and administrators on how to stay safe at summer camp.

However, there were still reported cases of the coronavirus outbreak in a summer camp in Georgia. According to a report from NBC News, more than 200 campers and administrators tested positive with the coronavirus.

Coronavirus in summer camp

According to the report from CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, there were 120 staff members and 130 trainees that had an orientation at the summer camp.

It opened on June 21 with more than 360 campers.

After a few days, one staff member had to leave the camp because of chills. This staff member tested positive for the coronavirus.

Because of this, campers and staff members were sent home. Health officials were alerted of the situation.

(Photo : Photo by Todd Trapani from Pexels)
260 individuals who joined a summer camp in Georgia, infected with coronovirus

Reports say that the camp did not require the wearing of face masks, despite the vigorous campaign of CDC to do this precautionary measure.

Documents proving that staff members were negative of the coronavirus were provided by the summer camp before opening. However, the staff members were the only ones asked to wear face masks. Campers roamed around without one.

Positive coronavirus cases

The health department recommended that everyone who went to the camp to get tested for the coronavirus.

Everyone from the summer camp also had to self-quarantine.

The tests returned with 260 positive cases. Among these are 231 individuals aged 17 years old and younger.

CDC said, "Settings, like multi-day, overnight summer camps, pose a unique challenge when it comes to preventing the spread of infectious diseases."

Spread of coronavirus among children

Kids at the summer camp were reported to join in several indoor and outdoor activities. They were singing and cheering during their stay there. They were also asked to sleep in cabins.

All of these activities were done without wearing facemasks.

In a report released by CDC last Friday, the organization reiterated that the incident only proves that children are susceptible to the virus, thus playing "an important role in transmission." That is contrary to early reports that children are not playing a role in the transmission of the deadly virus.

CDC believes that asymptomatic infection of the coronavirus is contributory to the transmission. CDC added, "This investigation adds to the body of evidence demonstrating that children of all ages are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection."