Summer camp in Georgia had over 250 covid cases after just 10 days
A YMCA non-socially distanced no-mask required sleepaway camp in Georgia with 600 staff and children had to shut down after a staffer developed coronavirus. It was open for just ten days total. Just two weeks after the camp closed, there was a whopping 76% positive rate among the campers and staff tested, with a total of 260 positive cases. Those are just the results that are now available, there are probably more. What’s more is that campers were required to show a negative test result within the last 12 days before they could attend.
Nearly 600 young campers and counselors attended the camp in late June, and of the 344 who were tested for COVID-19, 76% tested positive by mid-July. Three-quarters of the COVID-19 cases for which information was available involved symptoms, including sore throat, headache and fever.
The camp opened for staff on June 17 and kids started arriving four days later. The first known case involved a teen camp staff member who developed chills on June 23 and tested positive for COVID-19 the next day.
After that, the camp was quickly disbanded and it closed on June 27.
Campers, who averaged 12 years of age, hadn’t been required to wear masks although camp staff wore masks, the researchers said.
There was also a “variety of indoor and outdoor activities, including daily vigorous singing and cheering” — prime activities for the spread of breath droplets laden with coronavirus.
Campers were also housed closely together — 15 to a cabin, on average — according to a team led by Christine Szablewski, of the Georgia Department of Public Health. Among the 31 cabins, the COVID-19 infection rate averaged 50%.
[From WebMD]
I was watching a Good Morning America report on this and they interviewed a mom who sent her two kids who said she would not have done it differently! (That’s at 1 minute into this video.) She said “it is a virus and we can’t prevent it.” Yes you can dumbass, don’t hang out with people, keep socially distancing, wear masks and wash your hands. Her kids tested negative, but would she be saying this if her kids were deathly ill?
A lot of outlets are saying this is a test run for schools opening. We already saw what happened in Indiana. My son’s school is conducting in-person classes twice a week on an alternate schedule based on last name. While some of their documentation says masks are required, we received an automated phone message that said they are “recommended” and that it would be up to the teachers. This is asinine and he’s going to be studying from home. We are lucky he’s old enough to do that, that I work from home and frankly, that I have a job. This all could have turned out differently if the US just gone into lockdown and required mask wearing.
They had great plans:
Many months of prayer and preparation came to fruition yesterday! We have sanitized EVERYTHING, implemented all new procedures and prepared our staff for the safest summer yet. Campers will now move in the same, small cohorts throughout camp the entire week. They’ll eat in shifts and have separate assemblies. They’ll wash hands at every stop and will get temperatures taken each day. Things will look different, but it’s such an incredible blessing to be able to be here and serve our loyal camp families. We are so appreciative of everyone who stuck with us and stuck with the Y! We hope you have a safe and joyous summer, whether you’re with us this year at camp, or resting and relaxing at home. ??
Here we go! ??
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